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will be needed for salaries, training, and equipment. Pidlasa said that Ukraine’s initial plan” was for US and EU aid to start arriving in January. Aid delays have forced Kyiv to begin working on more than one alternate plan, according to Pidlasa. She added that the government is also considering both significant cuts in non-military spending and tax increases.
The restoration of Ukraine will cost $1T, and private businesses are braced for it. According to EIB estimates, more than $1T in public and private capital may be spent restoring Ukraine. However, there is already an approximate plan of action.
● The Turkish Onur Group repairs blown-up bridges. Together with the South Korean company Samsung C&T Corp., it has built mobile hospitals in Ukraine. The Onur Group wants to resume the reconstruction of the Dnipro International Airport and several highway projects.
● Istanbul company Dogus Construction is rebuilding three bridges with Britain’s support and is looking forward to future multi-billion-dollar contracts.
● Austrian company Waagner-Biro Bridge Systems, which produces modular steel overpasses, has already started production at a plant in western Ukraine.
● Denmark donated €120M to restore the Mykolaiv shipbuilding hub.
● Construction materials manufacturer Fixit is building a new production
site in the west of Ukraine.
● Chemical company Bayer AG announced an investment in seed
production.
American and European companies plan to receive the lion's share of contracts during the coming recovery.
Bond Investors are Ready to Fund the War Against the Russian Federation. Bond investors are urging squabbling European Union leaders to get their act together on defense spending and make the bloc’s trillion-euro bond program permanent, reported Bloomberg. That means demand won’t number among the challenges faced by EU politicians at loggerheads over whether to boost shared military capabilities by issuing joint bonds. Fund managers starved of AAA-rated securities say they’re clamoring for more European issuance. Investors point out that these instruments would enable the spending boost that is becoming ever more imperative to counter Russian aggressive invasion without loading more debt onto individual member states. And there is also something in it for them since EU bonds pay a premium over similarly rated sovereigns.
• US Aid
The US has allocated $300mn in military aid to Ukraine, but Kyiv won't be able to use it — according to Politico. For the first time this year, the US Congress allocated military aid to Ukraine. However, in reality, this money had already been spent back in November. Ukraine cannot currently use these $300mn. Including this money in the budget was a gesture from Washington indicating that the US is still in the game.
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Biden considers tapping into US Army funds for temporary Ukraine aid. Drawing on the Pentagon reserves would free up about $200 million in immediate military aid to Ukraine.
Republicans support providing Ukraine with loans, although the White House is opposed. Republicans in the US Congress are seriously considering providing at least part of the Ukrainian aid package in the form of a loan as a possible solution to the months-long struggle to deliver support to Kyiv. As
52 UKRAINE Country Report April 2024 www.intellinews.com