The US said it will provide an additional $1.3 billion toward the cost of reversing the devastation inflicted on Ukraine by Russia’s invasion, estimated by the World Bank at more than $400 billion over the next decade.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken made the pledge at Wednesday’s Ukraine Recovery Conference in London, where host Rishi Sunak announced the creation of a framework for war-risk insurance designed to encourage private investors. The UK premier said that more than 400 businesses from 38 countries have signed up to join the reconstruction effort.
While Sunak insisted that the Kremlin must be made to pay for rebuilding Ukraine, a document obtained by Bloomberg showed that the European Union has assessed that it can’t legally confiscate frozen Russian assets and is focusing on exploiting them temporarily. Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg urged caution in an interview with Bloomberg TV, warning that a successful legal challenge “would be a diplomatic and economic disaster.”
Sweden, which holds the rotating EU presidency, announced that the bloc’s ambassadors sealed a deal on an 11th package of penalties on Russia, including “measures aimed at countering sanctions circumvention.” Russia’s Defense Ministry said three more drones were brought down outside Moscow in what it described as an attempted attack by Ukraine.
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Coming Up
- US President Joe Biden hosts Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the White House
- Ukraine Recovery Conference concludes in London
- Informal meeting of EU General Affairs Council begins in Stockholm