The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj relies on the support of the World Bank for the reconstruction of the country destroyed by the Russian war of aggression. Promising new programs were discussed at a meeting with representatives of the development bank, Zelensky said in his video message broadcast every evening in Kiev on Friday. "Of course we have focused on reconstruction - and everything that needs to be done in the many Ukrainian towns and villages that have suffered from the occupier's terrorist attacks," he said.
"Houses, social infrastructure, the economic basis of life - all of this must be rebuilt," said Zelenskyj. At the same time, he once again condemned the severe destruction caused by the Russian attacks, which began with the invasion on February 24, 2022. In the video, Zelenskyj also acknowledged the fight of the defenders of Ukraine for the country and praised the fact that many young people are pursuing an officer's career.
The war in Ukraine caused damage of at least 135 billion US dollars (around 125 billion euros) within the first year alone. This emerges from a joint report by the Ukrainian government, the World Bank and the European Commission. The financial losses caused by the war during this period are given as 290 billion US dollars (around 269 billion euros). The cost of Ukraine's reconstruction and recovery was estimated at at least US$411 billion as of February 24, 2023.
Russia accused Slovakia of breaching a contract for handing over Soviet-era MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine. According to a contract concluded in 1997, it is not permissible to hand over the machines to another state without Russia's consent, the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation announced on Friday in Moscow. The contract was available on the Russian Foreign Ministry website. Moscow spoke of an "unfriendly act" and a violation of Slovakia's international obligations.
So far, Slovakian politics has not reacted publicly to the Russian allegations, which the Moscow embassy in Bratislava had previously made. The EU state handed over four planes to Ukraine on Thursday. Another nine are to be handed over to Ukraine "over the next few weeks," the Ministry of Defense told the German Press Agency. Of the 13 machines in total, 3 are not operational and are therefore only intended to be cannibalized for spare parts.
The majority of the jets had been handed over to Czechoslovakia by the Soviet Union in the late 1980s. After the country fell apart, the Czech Republic and Slovakia shared the planes. Even in the 1990s, Slovakia received a few more planes from Russia. The Kremlin recently stated that Ukraine is getting old and unnecessary technology with the planes from Slovakia and Poland.
In eastern Ukraine, the bloodiest fighting continues to be concentrated in the strategically important city of Bakhmut in the Donetsk region. There is still no end in sight to the costly battles between the troops of the Russian private army Wagner and the Ukrainian armed forces.
