New “Marshall Plan” needed for Ukraine, Liz Truss said

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A new “Marshall Plan” to rebuild Ukraine was called for by UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss on the first day of the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Lugano, Switzerland, bringing together officials from dozens of countries.

Ms. Truss also emphasized that it is important to make an immediate effort to repatriate Ukrainian refugees, as part of the effort to give “hope for the future.”

He confirmed that the UK will next host the conference on the reconstruction of Ukraine and pledged that the UK government will continue to lead the support provided to the Ukrainian government with the country’s reconstruction and development plan.

“There must be a new Marshall Plan for Ukraine and it must be led by Ukraine itself. We will push for immediate investment and to promote economic development, because it is absolutely necessary to jump-start the Ukrainian economy”, Ms. Tras said, among other things, in her intervention.

The conference heard from Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Shmyhal that a $750 billion package was needed to rebuild his country, with direct damage to infrastructure exceeding $100 billion.

Meanwhile, in a briefing to the House of Commons about his participation in last week’s Commonwealth, G7 and NATO summits, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson noted that he had warned other leaders that if they did not stop Putin in Ukraine, then the Russian President “will find other targets”.

As for the NATO summit, he commented that it “exceeded all expectations” in terms of maintaining unity vis-à-vis Moscow.

He added that NATO leaders agreed that Ukraine would be supported for as long as needed. This, he added, dispelled the myth that Western democracies lack the strength to stand firm during protracted crises.

Mr Johnson also highlighted the importance of the prospect of Sweden and Finland joining NATO, saying it was evidence of Putin’s recklessness.

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