Vladimir Putin on Monday ordered Russian forces to continue the war, EU ordered “Marshall Plan” for Ukraine
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Chmygal and Parliament Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk arrived in Lugano on Sunday.
They met with the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, to lay the foundations for a “Marshall Plan” for Ukraine.
The urgency is to help the war-affected population before, in a second step, financing thousands of reconstruction projects and, in the long term, preparing a European, green and digital Ukraine, Chmygal explained.
Robert Mardini, the director general of the International Committee of the Red Cross, told RTS that it was vital to give Ukrainians “a positive perspective” now.
The European Investment Bank (EIB) is to propose the creation of a new fund for Ukraine, which could reach 100 billion euros, according to informed sources.
And for Mr. Chmygal, Russian assets frozen in Western countries alone are valued at between $300 billion and $500 billion.
Vladimir Putin on Monday ordered Russian forces to continue their offensive in eastern Ukraine, a day after the capture of Lysytchansk.
This comes at a time when an international conference is opening in Switzerland to prepare for the future reconstruction of the country.
In Moscow, during a meeting with his Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, the Russian president ordered Russian troops to “carry out their mission” in accordance with “plans already approved”.
On Sunday evening, the General Staff of the Ukrainian army announced the withdrawal of units engaged in Lysytchansk, Kiev’s last stronghold in the Luhansk region, which Moscow now says it has full control.
For Ukrainian forces, the urgency now is to contain the Russian advance to the west and two major cities in the neighboring Donetsk region: Sloviansk and Kramatorsk.
