Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy says Ukraine needs "a modern analogue of the Marshall Plan" as he launches a global crowdfunding platform to help win the war against Russia and rebuild Ukraine's shattered infrastructure.
He stated this while speaking via video link at the High-Level International Donors' Conference for Ukraine in Warsaw on May 5.
"Ukraine's restoration must now become as historical example for our time and future as the restoration of European countries after World War II… It will be an investment in the stability of all of Central and Eastern Europe. So that the aggressor knows that it will not break the power of Europe and freer nations that everything that was destroyed by the war will be restored," Zelenskiy stressed, according to Interfax.
He reportedly noted that freedom must demonstrate that it protects and provides people better than tyranny, which for decades has enjoyed a huge flow of money, the sale of oil, gas and other raw materials, which is why this conference is so important for everyone in Europe both strategically and in tactical terms.
Zelenskiy pointed out that Ukraine now retains full functionality, but needs sufficient financial resources "so that Ukrainian men and women are provided with everything necessary," and in continuous work, the state, as the manager of these funds, will cover priority defense, social and humanitarian needs.
The Ukrainian president added that a large-scale recovery and reconstruction plan is already being prepared.
If this new Marshall Plan for Ukraine provides for quick and sufficient steps, he said, it will mean that millions of Ukrainians who have been displaced by the war will be able to return home.
