Table of Contents
- Just the Facts. The latest news related to the reconstruction of Ukraine.
- Reporter's Notepad. Exclusive reporting along with notes on meetings and transcripts of speeches, interviews and conferences attended.
- That's What You Think. Coverage of the latest opinion pieces from influential media outlets, pundits and intellectuals around the world.
- Sober Second Thought. New academic and think tank studies related to the reconstruction of Ukraine.
- Nuance and Rumor. Important, influential or particularly insightful social media posts that illuminate the mood and plans of Ukraine and the rebuilders.
Table of Contents
- The Refugees
- Peace
- The Rebuild
- Ukraine and Europe
- Companies
The Refugees
About 1 million military-age Ukrainian men live abroad, foreign minister says
About a million conscription-age Ukrainian men live abroad, with 300,000 in neighboring Poland alone, and it's a matter of "justice" that they return to Ukraine to fight the Russian invasion, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said.
Sybiha added that a military unit composed of Ukrainian men living abroad is currently being trained in Poland in a joint Polish-Ukrainian project, according to a report by Interfax Ukraine.
"This project, I think, will be very important from the point of view, in particular, of strengthening our defense capability," Sybiha said at the 20th meeting of the Yalta European Strategy (YES) in Kyiv.
To encourage men aged 18-60 to return to Ukraine, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry announced in April that it would stop offering consular services to them. It later clarified that they can receive consular services if they show a document proving they've registered with the military.
Ukraine working with European Commission to encourage return of refugees, minister says
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said his government is working with European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson and other allies to establish strategies to encourage Ukrainian refugees abroad to return hom.
"The time has come to discuss the programs for the return of Ukrainians developed by the European Union," Sybiha said, Ukrainian National News (UNN) reported. "For this, appropriate conditions must be created, including security guarantees, access to medical services and housing reconstruction. This should become a priority."
Some six million refugees fled Ukraine after the Russian full-scale invasion of February 2022 and their return is key to the reconstruction of the country and the recovery of the economy.
Around 69% of the Ukrainian refugees surveyed have higher learning, compared with an average of 29% in Ukraine overall and 33% in the European Union, according to a study by the Centre for Economic Strategy. And most refugees were employed when the war broke out, proving they're mentally and physically able to work.
Polish foreign minister calls on European states to stop social support for Ukrainian men abroad
Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski has urged European governments to halt social payments for Ukrainian men of conscription age living abroad to encourage them to return and join the fight against the Russian invasion, online Ukrainian newspaper Dzerkalo Tyzhnia reported.
"Hiding from conscription is not a reason for financial assistance. Just stop paying them," Sikorski said, adding that Poland does not provide such support. "Just stop paying them."
Sikorski was speaking over the weekend at the 20th meeting of the Yalta European Strategy (YES) in Kyiv, a gathering of diplomates, intellectuals and other dignitaries sponsored by Ukrainian billionaire Victor Pinchuk.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha, also in attendance at the meeting, endorsed Sikorski's idea, and stressed the importance of creating favorable conditions for their homecoming.
Peace
Ukraine intelligence chief says Russia aims to end the Ukraine war by 2026
Russia wants to end the war of Ukraine by late 2025 or early 2026 to prevent economic deterioration from escalating into social unrest, said Ukraine's intelligence chief, Kyrylo Budanov, citing Russian documents.
Russia predicts that "all their problems will begin in the summer of 2025" with a slowing economy and growing popular dissatisfaction, Budanov said at the weekend Yalta European Strategy (YES) meeting in Kyiv, as reported by Interfax Ukraine.
He said Russia next year will be facing the dilemma of escalating military mobilization are slowing down the pace of the assault on Ukraine next year as war fatigue in the nation grows.
Germany's Sholz says 'now is the moment' to redouble efforts to end war in Ukraine
Shortly after saying he will not let Ukraine use German weapons in long-range strikes against Russia, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called for an intensification of efforts to end the war.
"I believe that now is the moment when we also need to discuss how we can get out of this situation of war faster than the current impression is," Scholz said in an interview with public broadcaster ZDF on Saturday.
The chancellor didn't present a plan for peace in Ukraine but he did say he would suggest Russia attend the next Ukraine peace summit in Switzerland. Although a date has not yet been set, Ukraine has said it would be ready by November with a proposal to end the war.
That same day, Scholz said at a citizens' dialogue that Germany would not allow Ukraine to use long-range German weapons to hit targets deep inside Russia, according to national newspaper Die Welt.
The Rebuild
France to supply 19,000 tons of railway rails to Ukraine to upgrade 150 kms of track
France has committed to delivering 19,000 tonnes of railway track to support the recovery of Ukraine and help streamline its rail services with those of Western Europe, said Pierre Heilbronn, France's envoy to the reconstruction of Ukraine.
The first shipment of the track, which is enough to upgrade 150 kms of railway tracks, will arrive in January 2025, Heilbronn said in a meeting in Kyiv with Oleksiy Kuleba, Ukraine's newly appointed minister for reconstruction.
He also said that France aims to support Ukraine's critical infrastructure and economic recovery with a total of €200 million to address water supply, transport systems and other sectors through DREAM, according to a Ukrainian government statement.
The DREAM portal is a system created by the government, with cooperation from various NGOs and other private sector organizations, to manage the reconstruction of Ukraine while preventing corruption and waste.
Italy allocates €45 million for restoration of 5 historic monuments in Odesa
The Italian government has pledged €45 million to restore five architectural monuments in the southern Ukrainian city of Odesa that have been damaged during the Russian invasion, said an Odesa city official.
Ivan Liptuha, head of the city council's Department of Culture and European Integration, told the news agency Ukrinform that the money will restore the Philharmonic, Museum of Western and Eastern Art, the Literary Museum, the Art Museum, and a national heritage building set to become a UNESCO Center for Managing Cultural Heritage.
Three museums in Odesa were damaged in a single missile attack in July of last year, the Literary Museum said on its Facebook page at the time.
Denmark earmarks €7.2 million for pilot project to rebuild Mykolaiv water supply
Denmark has allocated €7.2 million to restore the water supply infrastructure in Mykolaiv's Korabelny neighborhood as a pilot project for similar works throughout the southern Ukrainian city.
The project aims to restore freshwater access, damaged in an attack shortly after the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, said the Nordic Environment Finance Corporation (NEFCO), which is responsible for the project.
The water supply in the district of 70,600 residents suffers leakages as high as 40%, said NEFCO, an international financial institution founded by the governments of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. New wells will be installed and aging pipes will be replaced, it said.
"The Korabelnyi district in the city of Mykolaiv has been chosen as a demonstration area for the recovery and reconstruction of the entire water supply system of the city of Mykolaiv," NEFCO said in a communique.
Ukraine and Europe
Ukraine’s lawyers lead the charge toward EU legal standards
Ukrainian law firms are intensifying their efforts to align the country's legal system with European Union standards as part of Ukraine's bid for EU membership, the Financial Times said in a feature report.
In one example of a shift Westward by the country's legal system, Ukraine’s Supreme Court last November took into account EU regulations in a ruling allowing the country's gas transmission network operator to recover over €1 billion in debts allegedly owed by firms of a Ukrainian oligarch.
“Though the European rules are not directly applicable in Ukraine, the contents of [them were] extensively discussed by the court because they interpreted Ukrainian rules through those European rules,” said Oleksiy Filatov, senior partner at Ukrainian law firm Aequo, who led work on the case.
This legal progress is part of a broader initiative that aims to improve transparency and efficiency within the legal framework to attract foreign investments crucial for post-war reconstruction, the FT said.
EU offers 3 options to raise fund for G7's $50 billion loan promise to Ukraine
The European Commission has outlined three strategies for European Union countries to collectively secure a $50 billion loan promised to Ukraine to bolster its military and economy amid the war with Russia.
This initiative follows a promise made at the G7 summit to give Ukraine a loan of $50 billion and use frozen Russian assets to generate interest that will be used to gradually repay it. A major risk of that plan is that the assets are unfrozen and returned to Russia before the loan is repaid.
The EC's options include freezing the assets for five years with annual reviews, renewing sanctions every 36 months, or renewing all sanctions every three years, Euronews reported, citing unnamed diplomats. These options aim to provide manageable solutions while addressing potential risks of default.
The second option received the most support, with a formal proposal expected soon to initiate negotiations among member states, as urgency grows to deliver aid before a feared humanitarian crisis this winter, Euronews said.
Companies
Ukrenergo names 23-year company veteran as acting chairman after controversial firing of Kudrytskyi
Ukrenergo, Ukraine’s state-owned power grid operator, has appointed Oleksii Brekht, a 23-year employee of the company, as its acting chairman, following the ousting of former Chairman Volodymyr Kudrytskyi.
Brekht, who has been on Ukrenergo's board for two years, says his main task is "to continue preparations for the heating season and the restoration of objects damaged as a result of enemy shelling," according to a company announcement on Telegram.
Brekht replaces Volodymyr Kudrytskyi, whose firing early this month reportedly drew criticism from the European Union, the European Bank for Reconstruction and others, and sparked the resignation of two board members who claimed the firing was "politically motivated."
DTEK to invest €140 million in energy storage systems in Ukraine
DTEK will invest €140 million to build energy storage systems in Ukraine with a total capacity of 200 MW to ensure resilience as Russian forces repeatedly attack the country's grid.
The project, which will begin operating in regions across Ukraine by September of next year, marks the largest investment ever in energy storage in the country, DTEK said in a press release.
"Battery technology will play a pivotal role in decentralizing Ukraine’s energy system, moving away from a few centralized power stations to a distributed network that can stabilize energy supply and demand, even amidst the ongoing conflict," the company said in the release.
The Reporter's Notepad: Meeting Notes, Scoops and Interviews
In Case You Couldn't Make It: The Europe-Poland-Ukraine: Cooperate Together conference in Kyiv on Sept 12 brought together employers' federations of the two countries to discuss cooperation in trade, logistics, transport and infrastructure as Ukraine prepares for reconstruction and starts talks to join the European Union.
URN attended the conference. Coverage of the key speeches, along with summaries of the events, transcriptions and other notes, are here.
Today's Events: Ukraine Investment Framework: How to Attract Financing for Business at 5 pm on Sept 16 in Kyiv. For further information, click here. URN will attend.
Washington Post: After initial morale boost, many Ukrainians fear incursion into Russia was a mistake
In Ukraine, "the mood is raw, tense and urgent," writes Fareed Zakaria in an opinion piece in The Washington Post titled "In tense Kyiv, Ukrainians fear the war could be decided within months."
Zakaria, on a trip to Kyiv, says the optimism that arose last month when Ukraine seized Russian territory has faded, with people wondering whether it was a mistake that allows Russians to advance in eastern Ukraine.
As the US presidential election approaches and the war enters a more dynamic phase, the city now feels more dangerous, Zakaria wrote in the newspaper's Sept 13 edition.
"This is a different city than the one I visited around this time in 2022 and 2023," he writes. "The situation in Ukraine is critical, and the next few months might well determine the outcome of this war."
Politico: Ukrainian Cabinet shuffle raises concerns of autocratic governance
Last week's Cabinet shuffle in Ukraine failed to bring new perspectives to the government and instead raised concern that President Volodymyr Zelensky and his powerful Chief of Staff Andriy Yermak are consolidating power and stifling dissent, Politico writes.
"Unfortunately, the reshuffle is doing nothing to ease long-standing worries about Zelenskyy’s highly personalized and, according to some, autocratic way of governing — including his dependence on a clam-like inner circle of trusted friends and advisers within the presidential administration," the newspaper wrote in its Sept 13 edition.
The replacement of Foreign Minister Dmyto Kuleba, who was popular with Western allies, "is seen as yet another example of how Zelenskyy’s coterie ejects outliers who are ready to question and challenge," it says.
Kuleba's firing, reportedly because he ran afoul of Yermak, was "in line with the earlier dismissal of armed forces commander General Valery Zaluzhny, who had clashed with Zelensky over war strategy," the newspaper writes. "Zaluzhny’s high favorability ratings didn’t endear him to a watchful and jealous presidential administration either."
The Times: Ukraine's energy sector needs a Marshall Plan
Ukraine's energy infrastructure needs a modern-day Marshall Plan, costing as much as $50 billion, to counter the severe impact of Russian attacks and decentralize energy production, Maxim Timchenko, CEO of DTEK, says in an opinion piece of The Times of the UK.
"Our key task must be to decentralise the way Ukraine produces energy, pushing generation away from “soft” military targets like coal-fired power plants and towards smaller, less vulnerable renewable assets," says Timchenko, whose company is the largest private investor in Ukraine's energy sector.
He said former energy consumers in Ukraine are becoming energy producers as they install solar, wind and thermal power to cope with regular power outages from Russian attacks. However, major effort and investment is needed in energy storage, he says.
"Pulling off such an audacious Marshall Plan for Ukraine’s energy system will require huge investment — the Kyiv School of Economics puts the cost at $50 billion — that is beyond the capability of a war-ravaged finance sector," he writes. "Instead Ukraine must become a magnet for global investment: that means championing market reforms, strengthening safeguards against corruption and creating paths for private Ukrainian companies to access foreign capital at scale."
War veterans may lead Ukraine into the future: Center for European Policy Analysis
War veterans, who are expected to number 5 million, or 10% of Ukraine's population, after the war are set to play a major role in the reconstruction and political life of the country, the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA) says.
Trust in the Armed Forces has soared to 95% among Ukrainians, positioning war veterans to play a critical role in the nation's rebuilding efforts, the think tank says in an analysis of the post-war future.
Public support for veteran-led political initiatives is strong, with 78% of Ukrainians favoring a political party formed by veterans. However, challenges persist as trust in other state institutions remains low, necessitating a careful approach to integrating veterans into the political landscape.
The potential of these veterans to transform Ukraine's leadership is promising, but it must be balanced with accountability and the reinforcement of democratic institutions to ensure sustainable progress towards a transparent and law-abiding state.
Francis Malige, managing director for financial institutions at the EBRD, posted that he gathered Ukrainian banks at EBRD headquarters to discuss staffing shortages, risk management and other topics related to the war.
Yevhen Kulikov, head of corporate business at PrivatBank, posted that his lender has closed a UAH 100 million ($2.4 million) working capital deal under the Ukrainian state affordable loans program for IMC, a leading agri holding. "What makes this deal a remarkable one is not the amount but the context," he said. The company operates near the front lines.
Borys Danevych, head of CEE life sciences at global law firm CMS, outlined Ukraine's first detailed regulation governing the collection, storage, and use of human biospecimens for research and development in a LinkedIn post on biobanking.
Julia Kiryanova, who has lobbied extensively for foreign help in th reconstruction of Ukraine, announced in a social media post that she is resigning as CEO of Ukrainian industrial and investment group Smart-Holding. "For me, this chapter has reached a natural and honest conclusion," she said.
Law firm CMS announced that it has updated its Rebuilding Ukraine Guide to investing in Ukraine for Q3 2024, with sections on Sanctions, Martial Law, Business Operations During the War, Defence and Aerospace, and Rebuilding Ukraine.
BDO in Ukraine announced that it has updated its Investment Guide to Ukraine with new opportunities for foreign investors, a new section on data covering innovation and corruption as well as updates on currency restrictions.
