“We are taking a stake in Ukraine’s future by leveraging public money to bring large-scale private sector investments and help the rebuilding of the country,” she added.
As for who will contribute to the fund, von der Leyen named Italy, Germany, France, Poland and the European Investment Bank and added, “I trust others will be eager to join. The people of Ukraine are ready to drive their country’s economy into the future. The time to invest is now.”
She did not specify how much the fund aims to collect. Ukraine needs at least $40 billion in external financing in 2026, as it continues to allocate most of its state budget to defense needs, Ukrainian Finance Minister Serhii Marchenko said Wednesday.
Ukraine needs regular and predictable external support to maintain the financial stability it has achieved with its partners since 2022. This also lays the foundation for the country’s successful reconstruction,” Marchenko added.
Russia’s ongoing full-scale invasion has devastated towns and cities across Ukraine and shows no sign of ending as the Kremlin’s military continues to bombard the country on a nightly basis.
In April, Ukraine’s government signed a deal with the Trump administration to establish an American-Ukrainian Reconstruction Investment Fund, which will draw on cash from Ukraine’s natural resources development projects.