Solidarity Conference for Ukraine in Paris

Paris At the weekend, Emmanuel Macron and Volodymyr Zelensky called again to prepare the solidarity conference for Ukraine in Paris. The Ukrainian President will only take part in the meeting via video link, but he will send several members of the government at the same time. Tuesday’s conference will focus on securing Ukraine’s supplies in the winter. It is also about the long-term challenge of rebuilding the war-torn country.

Expectations in Ukraine are high. The European Union in particular “should approach the reconstruction of Ukraine as if it were rebuilding its own territory,” Yuriy Ryzhenkov, head of Ukrainian steel giant Metinvest, told Handelsblatt. “Ukraine is already a candidate for EU membership and in many ways will become a full part of the EU.”

Ryzhenkov, who heads the country’s largest industrial group, is convinced that Europe has a genuine economic interest in Ukraine’s reconstruction. “The support should be similar to the Marshall Plan after World War II.”