Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy urged allies to provide $17 billion of financial aid now, while Russia’s war rages on, and much more once the conflict ends and the rebuilding begins.
(Bloomberg) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy urged allies to provide $17 billion of financial aid now, while Russia’s war rages on, and much more once the conflict ends and the rebuilding begins.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who hosted a confererence addressing Ukraine’s post-war reconstruction, said the war-battered nation’s global backers will provide assistance “as long as it takes.”
“Putin’s Russia is desperate” and the Ukrainian people will prevail in the conflict with Russia, he said. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the EU will develop funding of up to 1.5 billion euros ($1.5 billion) a month, or around 18 billion euros for next year as a whole.
(See RSAN on the Bloomberg Terminal for the Russian Sanctions Dashboard.)
Key Developments
- Progressives Urge Biden Shift on Ukraine, Before Backpedaling
- Putin’s Threats Worry NATO as Sign of Russian Desperation
- Top US, Russian Generals Speak Amid Fears of Nuclear Escalation
- Europe’s Autumn Heatwave Means More Gas for Later in Winter
- Russian Oil Logistics in Chaos With Weeks Until Sanctions Bite
On the Ground
Russian troops shelled the Nikopol district of the Dnipropetrovsk region overnight, local authorities said on Telegram. Analysts at the US-based Institute for the Study of War said that the slower pace of Russian air, missile, and drone strikes may reflect “decreasing missile and drone stockpiles and the strikes’ limited effectiveness of accomplishing Russian strategic military goals.”
(All times CET)
Ukraine Needs $17 Billion for Immediate Recovery (10:12 a.m.)
Ukrainian President Zelenskiy urged allies to provide his country with financial support “now, when the war is on and for the post-war period.”
The country needs $17 billion immediately for a quick recovery “as we have not got a single cent,” Zelenskiy told International Expert Conference on the Recovery, Reconstruction and Modernisation of Ukraine in Berlin in a video address. Speaking at the same conference, his premier said the amount doesn’t include the latest widespread damage to Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.
On the whole, Ukraine needs $38 billion of aid next year to fill the budget gap opend by the war — and it won’t manage without external help, he said.
Poland Mulls Border Wall With Kalinigrad to Stave Off Migration (10:11 a.m.)
Poland will reinforce its border with Russia’s Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad and may consider building a fence along the 210 kilometer (130 mile) frontier, ruling party official Krzysztof Sobolewski said on public radio.
Poland has also accused the Kremlin of masterminding the artificial flow of thousands of people from countries including Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan onto the border, hoping to cross into the EU late last year.
Lithuania Calls for More EU Sanctions Against Iran (9:14 a.m)
The EU should consider more sanctions against Iran to match those imposed against Belarus to prevent the country from producing drones for Russia’s war in Ukraine, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said.
Iran is effectively a participant in the war against Ukraine, Landsbergis told radio LRT.
“It seems to me that similar sanctions that apply to Belarus should at least be considered for Iran, limiting its ability to continue supplying weapons,” he said.
Yakunin Appeals Arrest by Authorities in Norway (9:01 a.m.)
A Russian-British citizen who’s the son of a long-standing ally of President Vladimir Putin has appealed his arrest by Norwegian authorities last week for flying a drone on the Svalbard islands.
Andrey Yakunin, who was held on Oct. 17 during a boating holiday in the Arctic archipelago, said he was using the drone to take landscape photographs and check for weather conditions on hiking routes, according to an emailed statement by his lawyers.
His lawyers said the sanctions regulations, which prohibit Russian nationals from flying drones in Norway, do not apply to British citizens, and they also argued the sanctions do not apply to the recreational flight of drones. Yakunin’s father Vladimir was among Putin’s closest allies until leaving his post as the head of the national railways in 2015.
Ukraine Limits Power to Industries (8:45 a.m.)
Ukrainian electricity grid operator Ukrenergo said it limited power to industries in all regions of the country to stabilize the functioning of the energy system.
The operator also urged people to save power and use home appliances — like washing machines and boilers — at night.
Investigation Identifies Alleged Russian Missile Programmers (8:41 a.m.)
An investigation published by Bellingcat, in partnership with The Insider and Der Spiegel, identified dozens of members of a “secretive” group of military engineers in Russia’s Defense Ministry that it said were linked to the programming of cruise missiles “that have killed hundreds and deprived millions in Ukraine of access to electricity and heating.”
Phone metadata records showed contacts between the specialists and their superiors “spiked shortly before” the strikes, according to the six-month investigation, which found that members of the group are mostly young men and women, including a husband-and-wife couple, with IT and even computer-gaming backgrounds working in centers in Moscow and St. Petersburg.
World Bank Disburses Additional $500 Million to Ukraine (8:38 a.m.)
The World Bank announced the disbursement of an additional $500 million to help Ukraine meet urgent spending needs.
The money will be used to maintain essential government services, the lender said in a statement. The bank has already mobilized $13 billion in emergency financing for Ukraine, including commitments and pledges from donors. So far, $11.4 billion has been fully disbursed, according to the bank’s data.
German President Visits Ukraine (8:08 a.m.)
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said his visit aims to show solidarity with Ukraine and convey a message his nation stands by the war-torn country.
“Our solidarity is unbroken and it will stay that way,” he said in a statement posted on his website.
Austin Discussed Russia With Stoltenberg, Ukraine’s Reznikov (1:39 a.m.)
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg discussed recent diplomatic engagements with Russia, according to a readout.
In a separate readout, Austin reiterated that the US rejects false allegations by Russia about Ukraine and any attempt to use them as a pretex for further escalation of Russia’s war against Ukraine.
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