The Netherlands has allocated an additional EUR1 billion in military aid and EUR400 million for reconstruction to Ukraine in addition to the commitments under the bilateral security agreement, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said after a phone conversation with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte.
“In a telephone conversation, Prime Minister Mark Rutte has just announced that the Netherlands has allocated another EUR 1 billion for military assistance to Ukraine and EUR 400 million for reconstruction. This is in addition to the obligations under our bilateral security agreement,” Zelenskyy wrote on his Telegram channel.
The Head of State expressed gratitude to the Prime Minister and all the people of the Netherlands.
According to him, during the conversation, they also discussed joint work with partners to accelerate the supply of artillery shells, ammunition and air defense systems.
” I thanked him for the effective Justice for Ukraine conference in The Hague and the launch of the Register of Damages as a result of it. He spoke about the preparations for the Peace Summit in Switzerland and invited the Netherlands to join. We also discussed the necessary efforts to ensure that this event is supported by as many countries as possible,” Zelenskyy wrote.
For his part, Rutte said that his country would provide Ukraine with additional military assistance worth EUR1 billion in 2024 and allocate EUR3 billion in defense support for 2025.
“The Netherlands will provide an additional EUR1 billion in military support this year. This is in addition to the EUR2 billion already approved by the authorities. We have also decided that we will allocate EUR3 billion for military support for the next year,” Rutte wrote on social network X.
In addition, according to the Prime Minister, the Netherlands is using EUR400 million “to support the Ukrainian economy and repair vital energy infrastructure.”
Rutte reminded that the Netherlands continues to make efforts to deliver more ammunition and air defense equipment to Ukraine faster, together with international partners, including Denmark and the Czech Republic.
In early March, the Netherlands signed a 10-year bilateral security agreement with Ukraine. According to Rutte, his country will provide Ukraine with assistance and support “across the entire spectrum of defense cooperation, as well as in the areas of reconstruction, sanctions support, and the fight for justice.”
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has approved attracting EUR200 million in grants from France for the reconstruction and restoration of critical infrastructure.
According to Taras Melnychuk, a representative of the Cabinet of Ministers in the Verkhovna Rada, who posted on Telegram, the decision taken at a government meeting on Tuesday approved a draft grant agreement between the governments of Ukraine and France to help restore and maintain critical infrastructure and priority sectors of Ukraine’s economy.
The agreement provides for the attraction of grant funds from the French government in the amount of EUR 200 million. They will be used to reconstruct and restore critical infrastructure in sectors such as healthcare, infrastructure, energy, agriculture, water supply and sanitation, waste management, demining, and digital technologies.
Japan plans to donate 15.8 billion yen (about $106 million) to Ukraine for the country’s post-war reconstruction, particularly in the areas of demining, agriculture, bio- and information technology, Kyodo News reports.
“Japan will pledge 15.8 billion yen ($106 million) to help rebuild Ukraine after war damage in seven areas, such as infrastructure reconstruction and demining,” the agency wrote on Sunday, citing sources familiar with the situation.
It is expected that “at the Japan-Ukraine Conference on Promoting Economic Reconstruction to be held on February 19 in Tokyo, the two governments will agree on Japan’s participation in the post-war reconstruction of Ukraine and sign more than 10 memorandums of cooperation.”
The conference will be attended by the prime ministers of the two countries, Fumio Kishida and Denys Shmyhal, as well as representatives of industry and business.
According to the agency, the aid “will be used to provide demining equipment and temporary bridges, as well as other resources urgently needed to help rebuild the war-torn country… The seven areas of cooperation also include agriculture, humanitarian relief, biotechnology and industrial development, information technology, as well as governance and anti-corruption measures.”
Ukrainian-made cement should become a key material for reconstruction, and at the peak of reconstruction the market could reach 15 million tons of products, or more than $1 billion a year, according to Ukrcement.
“In the production of building materials, we can really compete with foreign producers by taking advantage of logistics. In addition, the average price of cement in Ukraine is more than 30% lower than in other Central and Eastern European countries. Tales of “cheap imports” are just private interest,” the association said.
At the same time, the cost of cement has increased significantly over the past three years. According to Ukrcement, since 2020, the cost of energy has increased by more than 200%, coal by 280%, and transportation by 317%. At the same time, energy and logistics account for 72% of the cement production cost structure.
The association believes that the state has two main tasks in managing the recovery: maximum transparency in the selection of contractors and localization.
The potential of Ukraine’s cement industry is 13.6 million tons of cement annually, said Lyudmyla Krypka, executive director of the Ukrcement Association. At the same time, companies are preparing for consumption growth and are planning to expand their capacities.
“The cement industry is probably the only heavy industry in Ukraine where players have modernized their production facilities to meet the quality and ensure the required production volumes. We are preparing for a possible increase in cement consumption. At least two companies already have plans to build additional clinker kilns,” the expert told Interfax-Ukraine.
Ukrcement Association was established in January 2004 through the reorganization of the Ukrainian Concern of Cement Industry Enterprises and Organizations Ukrcement.
The government of the Republic of Korea plans to support the public and private sectors in the implementation of Ukraine’s reconstruction projects worth $52 billion, The Korea Herald reported, citing South Korean Presidential Secretary for Economic Affairs Choi Sang-mok.
“In May, through the channel of intergovernmental cooperation, Ukraine asked Korean companies to participate in about 5,000 construction projects estimated at $20 billion,” The Korea Herald quoted the secretary as saying on Friday.
He said the Korean government will begin evaluating construction sites where modular units will be built to quickly build infrastructure such as schools, housing and hospitals. The sites will be inspected with official development assistance funds.
In addition, the Republic of Korea plans to provide technical assistance for the rehabilitation of water infrastructure, and to supplement the humanitarian aid offered for the Kakhovka hydroelectric plant, which was undermined by Russian occupiers.
The secretary also added that support will also be provided for the private sector-led reconstruction project, which is currently estimated to cost about $32 billion.
“The project covers various sectors, including: nuclear power plants with small modular reactors, airport reconstruction, construction equipment, rail transportation and information technology,” the statement said.
“Although the war continues and the reconstruction work is in its early stages, we will prepare for our role in the reconstruction project as diligently as the Ukrainian government wishes,” Choi Sang Mok emphasized.
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has allocated 200.6 million UAH for the reconstruction of the Borodyansk social and psychological rehabilitation center.
According to the representative of the Cabinet of Ministers in the Verkhovna Rada Taras Melnychuk in Telegram, the relevant decision was made at the government meeting.
In particular, the Ministry of Veteran Affairs allocated 200 million 633.87 thousand UAH from the fund to eliminate the effects of the armed aggression on the budget program “Measures for psychological assistance, social and professional adaptation, provision of sanatorium treatment and development of sports of war veterans, those who have rendered special services to the homeland, the family members of such persons, victims of the Revolution of Dignity, family members of the deceased (deceased) war veterans, family members of deceased Defenders and Defenders of Ukraine and production for them forms of certificates
As reported, in May the Cabinet of Ministers reallocated UAH 100 million to provide funding for the reconstruction of the Borodyansk center of social and psychological rehabilitation.
