(Re) build (New) Ukraine – rebuilding Ukraine in the shadow of the ongoing war
On 25 May 2022, we organised an expert event to present Ukraine’s most urgent needs in the context of its reconstruction, which are huge, with the Ukrainian economy being in need of USD 5 billion every month.
During the expert discussion, Anna Yurchenko, Deputy Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine, pointed to the scale of damage suffered by Ukraine as a result of the war. The list is long and striking, but presents the best way to show the losses suffered. Since the very beginning of the Russian aggression against Ukraine, at least 208 businesses, 508 medical facilities, 1,502 schools and kindergartens, nearly 300 bridges, as well as more than 23,500 km of roads and ca. 90,000 cars have been damaged, destroyed or occupied. Ukraine has thus had almost 50% of its GDP wiped off the map.
In the shadow of all this almost immeasurable infrastructural damage, one should ask: how can we reliably document these losses and seek compensation for the damage caused by the Russian Federation?
“Although it may seem mundane, the most important thing is to file an official notification of the damage caused with the police, law enforcement authorities and other relevant services. The next step is to document everything thoroughly, in detail and in real time, taking photographs and recording videos. These will serve to create an extensive evidence base, including precise valuations of all the damage caused. When it comes to suing Russia, two paths can be taken. The first one leads through the Ukrainian courts, since – according to the decision of the Ukrainian Supreme Court – the Russian Federation does not have immunity before them. The second involves international investment arbitration. There is also a lot of talk at the moment about frozen Russian assets – we need to find a way to seize such assets and allocate them for the reconstruction of private property,” stated Markiyan Malskyy, PhD, Partner and Head of our Ukrainian Desk.
Although the current financial needs of the Ukrainian market now have reached astronomical sums, it is worth noting that, in this respect, international organisations have rushed to help from the very first day of the war. In line with the Rapid Financing Facility, at the beginning of March, Ukraine was assisted by the International Monetary Fund releasing USD 1.4 billion and the World Bank offering a support package totalling USD 3 billion. However, despite the involvement of the international community, these measures are a drop in the ocean of Ukraine’s current needs.
It should also be realised that erecting new buildings to replace those destroyed, or building new bridges on the sites where old bridges used to be, cannot be the sole aim of the plan for rebuilding Ukraine. The country needs to begin functioning again in a forcibly changed reality. Infrastructural needs are vital, but so is the need to restructure the whole country and to reorganise public life to the fullest extent.
“In the case of the war in Ukraine, it is difficult to focus our minds on anything other than ending the hostilities as quickly as possible. However, it is already time to think about a new vision for the future of our neighbour. The war has brought incalculable losses and enormous suffering to the Ukrainian people, and the world will not be able to find a satisfactory enough solution to compensate them even in small part for these misfortunes. However, Ukraine needs to navigate its way through the new, hopefully soon post-war reality – and this is perfectly feasible. This is not a vague scenario, but a realistic plan for a new reality, ” said Piotr Kochański, Managing Partner.
Anna Yurchenko (Deputy Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine for European Integration), Ihor Baranetskyi (Head of the Economic Section of the Embassy of Ukraine to Poland), Roman Kachur (Alternate Executive Director of the World Bank, and former Minister of Finance of Ukraine), Mirosław Barszcz (Chairman of the Investment Committee of the Polish-Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce), Jakub Krysa (Partner in the Public Procurement Practice) and Łukasz Węgrzyn (Partner in the Technology Practice), discussed all these issues during a panel discussion moderated by Markiyan Malskyy. The meeting was also attended by investors and representatives of the construction industry.
This was one of the first meetings of this type, but in view of the urgent needs of Ukraine, it will certainly not be the last.
Source: Wirtualna Polska
Do you have any questions? Contact the Head of our Ukrainian Desk
