Together with Oleksandr Kubrakov, the Ukrainian minister of infrastructure, the UK-Ukraine Infrastructure Taskforce was officially inaugurated today (July 11).
The UK announced pledges to provide temporary housing and longer-term infrastructure projects to assist the country recover in the wake of Putin’s unlawful war at the inaugural UK-Ukraine Infrastructure Taskforce conference.
Oleksandr Kubrakov, the Ukrainian minister of infrastructure, and Anne-Marie Trevelyan, the secretary of state for international trade, met in person to discuss cooperation on the most urgent issues relating to the rehabilitation of Ukraine’s infrastructure.
The summit, which took place in the British Embassy in Warsaw, Poland, built on the UK-Ukraine Infrastructure Summit held in London the previous month and concentrated on the practical actions required to help the post-conflict reconstruction of Ukraine.
Anne-Marie Trevelyan, secretary for international trade, said:
“Ukrainian citizens are not only defending their country against Putin’s illegal war – they are trying to rebuild it.
“Restoring public services, unblocking disrupted supply chains and re-open life-saving evacuation routes all need urgent and concerted action. President Zelenskyy is right that these challenges must be shared by countries and businesses around the world.
“I was pleased to confirm the UK’s unflinching support to play our part in these efforts when I met Minister Kubrakov today.
“I heard how families have emerged from bomb shelters to find their properties turned to rubble. So I want to make sure that UK companies can help by providing temporary bridges and modular, prefabricated housing to help – the same type of emergency housing the UK needed after World War Two.
“Longer term, the UK will be providing expertise on the delivery of sustainable and resilient infrastructure through our brilliant UK-based businesses. And we’ll be continuing to work closely with Ukraine to offer them any help needed elsewhere, be it on energy, water, sanitation or public utilities.
“It’s particularly poignant to have held the inaugural taskforce meeting in Poland.
“Poland has been quite literally on the frontline of the efforts to support Ukraine against Putin. The government and its citizens have been extraordinarily generous in their support of Ukraine. It makes the UK even prouder than ever to call Poland a friend, and I’m pleased to have strengthened that friendship today.”
Following the UK-Ukraine Infrastructure Summit in London on July 17, when 120 representatives from both countries examined the scope of the task to reconstruct Ukraine as a result of Putin’s unlawful war, the Taskforce meeting will be held.
Longer-term assistance was also explored, including £3.5 billion in financial resources from UK Export Finance (UKEF) accessible to UK exporters and Ukrainian purchasers across industries.