Germany is paying another 200 million euros for the reconstruction of Ukraine. As the German Press Agency learned, State Secretary for Development Jochen Flasbarth (SPD) promised help during a visit to the capital Kiev and the port city of Mykolaiv in the south of the country.
The money is to be used for education, health and drinking water supplies and urban reconstruction. The funds are expected to flow into various programs this year.
According to its own information, the Development Ministry has made around one billion euros available for civil support to Ukraine since the start of the Russian war of aggression in February 2022. From the Federal Government’s perspective, reconstruction cannot wait until the end of the war. “We have to help with reconstruction because it is part of the Ukrainians’ internal willingness to resist,” said Development State Secretary Flasbarth to the dpa. You have to repair what is broken – despite the risk of renewed destruction. “We have to send the message to (Russian President Vladimir) Putin: No matter how many times you destroy the bridge, we will rebuild it.”
Flasbarth is the Federal Government Commissioner for the coordination of international reconstruction efforts in Ukraine. During his two-day trip, the SPD politician got an idea of the various projects that Germany supports – from urban planning to mine clearance to seawater desalination plants.
Flasbarth: There must be economic perspectives
Germany is providing military support because Ukraine is defending our values and fighting for democracy in its defensive battle against the Russians, said Flasbarth. “If we are serious about this, we also have to fight to ensure that Ukraine remains a country worth living in.” There must be economic perspectives. People in Ukraine needed jobs. Central economic sectors such as agriculture must be preserved. The State Secretary called for the G7 donor platform to pick up speed. The past few months have been too slow there.
At the moment in Ukraine there is even more focus on repairs, for example of destroyed pipelines, said Flasbarth. In the long term, however, strategic planning for reconstruction is needed. He doesn’t want to talk about the opportunity that lies in reconstruction for Ukraine – that would be cynical given the war. But: “It would be completely wrong not to use the war with its reconstruction requirements for modernization.” The destroyed energy infrastructure in Ukraine must be restored, but also with a view to renewable energies more decentralized than ever before. This can be planned now, said Flasbarth.
At the same time, the State Secretary advocated not losing focus despite the events in the Middle East. “The terrible war that Hamas has unleashed must not lead to us losing attention to Ukraine. Then we would be doing Putin’s job,” he said. “Even if further crises arose, we would not be able to abandon the Ukrainians.” Flasbarth assured that they would continue to stand by Ukraine.
