The UK government has announced a wide range of packages to boost Ukraine’s recovery efforts in the immediate term and enable the long-term reconstruction of the country as a modern, stable and resilient democracy.

These measures followed the major package of financial support announced by the Prime Minister to bolster Ukraine’s economic stability as it continued to push back Russian forces.

The announcements were made Wednesday at the ongoing Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC) held in London. The event represented a coalition to rebuild Ukraine, bringing together a broad variety of businesses, governments and civil society to unlock the potential of the private sector to support Ukraine’s immediate and long-term recovery needs.

A statement issued by the High Commission of UK in Nigeria informed that as part of the conference, the UK has called on the private sector to boost Ukraine’s recovery as well as support both urgent recovery needs and to galvanize action for long-term reconstruction.

“UK support announced at the conference will help kick-start Ukraine’s road to recovery and help lay the foundations for private sector investment. In the immediate term, this means repairing vital energy, transport and social infrastructure and rebuilding liberated towns and bomb-destroyed cities, to bolster Ukraine’s resilience for the months ahead.

“Putin’s illegal war has caused untold destruction and devastation across Ukraine. The recent destruction of the Kakhovka dam has wide-reaching ecological and humanitarian consequences, which has dramatically worsened the situation.

“As Russia’s illegal war rages on, Ukraine vitally needs support to not just win the peace but to emerge as a stronger, more prosperous country, resilient to future threats.”

Following the announcements, the UK’s non-military assistance to Ukraine has amounted to a total sum of more than £4.7 billion (about N4 trillion).

In his remarks, the UK Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, announced a landmark package of financial support for the country, including $3 billion of additional guarantees to unlock World Bank lending and £240 million of bilateral assistance.

According to the UK Foreign Secretary, James Cleverly, UK government is also working with international partners to provide further new financial backing for Ukraine’s economy, with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) looking to raise between €3 to5 billion of new capital from shareholders, backed by the UK. This has the potential to quadruple investment capacity in Ukraine.

“As Ukraine enters a second year defending itself against Putin’s illegal invasion, it is vital that the global community continues to shows our strength of support for Ukraine’s recovery.

“Through hosting this event, we are standing in solidarity with Ukraine and committing our support for them to emerge from the war not only victorious, but as a sustainable, modern and resilient democracy.

“The commitments the UK has made today will bolster Ukraine’s current and future recovery needs”, Cleverly added.

Additional UK support will cover a wide-range of sectors essential to Ukraine’s current resilience and future prosperity. Vital support to Ukraine’s energy sector will not only keep the lights on in hospitals, schools and homes, it will also help Ukraine’s longer-term energy infrastructure rebuild as a green and sustainable system, the statement read.

This package is further broken down to include, a £45 million envelope of funding, part of the UK’s wider £62 million programme to support Ukraine’s energy recovery over the next two years. Of this figure, £25 million would be going to the International Finance Corporation’s Ukraine Economic Resilience Action platform to encourage Ukraine’s energy security. The sum of £3 million will support a new technical assistance facility to speed up Ukraine’s energy sector reform and decarbonization.

“A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by UK Minister for Europe, Leo Docherty and Ukrainian Minister for Energy, German Galushchenko, aimed at committing UK support to Ukraine’s energy sector and help to secure a green energy future”, the statement read.

It added that UK, the government of Ukraine and members of the G7+ have agreed a Clean Energy Partnership to coordinate international efforts to rebuild Ukraine’s energy system as a more modern, decentralized and green energy system, fit for full European integration and a Net Zero future.

Meanwhile, efforts to reconstruct and rebuild towns and infrastructure after Russian bombardments will receive UK support to help ensure the most urgent repairs are delivered with “a £26.3 million equivalent loan backed by UK Export Finance, allowing the Ukrainian government to start rebuilding six vital bridges damaged as a direct result of the illegal Russian invasion, reopening supply routes near the capital, Kyiv.

“A £12 million to the Partnership Fund for a Resilient Ukraine to enable the Government of Ukraine and its communities to remain resilient in the face of Russia’s aggression, including support to identify and respond to immediate recovery priorities in newly liberated territories in the east, south and in Ukraine’s border areas.

“A UK support will facilitate and enhance private sector investment in Ukraine, before the end of the conflict, including with $25 million from the UK’s development finance institution, the British International Investment (BII), to support the International Finance Corporation’s (IFC) Global Trade Finance Program to help keep cross-border trade lines open. This follows the Prime Minister’s announcement this morning that the UK is committing £250 million of new capital to BII.

“A further £15 million for a new anti-corruption e-governance project, being delivered with UK support, to build transparency and accountability into key public services in Ukraine; £2 million to the Government of Ukraine’s digital system for reconstruction management, the Digital Restoration Ecosystem for Accountable Management (DREAM) platform which will increase the transparency of reconstruction projects.”

The Ukraine Recovery Conference continues in London Thursday with a focus on the role private sector and businesses can play in supporting Ukraine’s recovery.