00:00 It's a mammoth task but Kyiv's allies have already pledged billions of dollars in aid
00:04 at the Ukraine Recovery Conference. The goal? To help rebuild the country's infrastructure
00:09 devastated by war. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said he needed to see action, not
00:14 just pledges.
00:15 "At this conference we must move from reason to agreements and from agreements to real
00:23 projects. There is a Ukrainian delegation in London that will present concrete things
00:31 that we propose to do together."
00:34 The US pledged more than 1.3 billion dollars in aid, with 500 million dollars earmarked
00:39 for Ukraine's energy grid.
00:41 "Recovery is about more than just ensuring people have what they need to survive. Food
00:46 to eat, water to drink, medicine to take, heat in the winter, electricity in all seasons.
00:53 Recovery is about laying the foundation for Ukraine to thrive as a secure, independent
00:59 country fully integrated with Europe, connected to markets around the world."
01:04 The EU also announced its own plan to provide Ukraine with 55 billion dollars in support
01:08 through to 2027, but that's still only a small portion of what will be needed to get the
01:13 country back on its feet.
01:15 The World Bank estimates that reconstruction will cost more than 400 billion dollars, with
01:19 political leaders urging private sector companies to invest.
01:23 Rebuilding isn't the only aim. Donors have also insisted on the need for Ukraine to fight
01:28 corruption to make it fit for EU membership one day in the future.
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