For the first time, the EU has begun to pledge money to rebuild Ukraine’s battered economy should the war come to an end. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has announced a new package of financial assistance to Ukraine's recovery totalling €2.3bn as part of the so-called Ukraine Investment Framework.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy also announced the preparation of about 200 agreements for the Ukraine Recovery Conference, which is taking place in Rome on July 10-11 (URC2025) for a total amount of €10bn.

"Today, the EU reaffirms its role as Ukraine's strongest partner. Not just its top donor, but a key investor in its future. With €2.3bn in agreements signed, we aim to unlock up to €10bn in investments to rebuild homes, reopen hospitals, revive businesses and secure energy," von der Leyen said at the Ukraine Recovery Conference held in Rome on July 10-11, reports Interfax.

Separately, Zelenskiy announced Bankova (Ukraine’s equivalent of the Kremlin) had signed off on over 200 deals worth €10bn investment projects.

"Here, at the conference, more than 500 companies are represented. About 200 agreements are ready for signing with a total value of more than €10bn. All this must be fully implemented. And, please, let's also focus on energy," Zelenskiy said at the plenary session of the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Rome (URC2025) on Thursday.

The new EU package includes €1.8bn investment by loan guarantees and the rest in grants.

"As part of this support, I can announce a €1bn payment in macro-financial support, dear Volodymyr. I can also announce a payment of more than €3bn from the Ukraine Facility. And these guarantees and grants that we are signing here today … are set to unlock €10bn in investment for growth, recovery and reconstruction of Ukraine,” von der Leyen said. “This year alone we will cover 84% of external financing needed.”

She announced the creation of a new Fund for the Reconstruction of Ukraine equity fund, backed by the European Investment Bank, France, Germany, Italy and Poland. With an initial capital of €220mn, the fund aims to mobilise €500mn by 2026, the Commission said. The head of the EC also called on European businesses to “invest in Ukraine today.”

By disbursing a new tranche of macro financial assistance in an amount of €1bn to Kyiv, the European Union remains Ukraine's biggest donor, having provided almost €165bn since 2022 of economic and military aid, von der Leyen said.

Zelenskiy noted that Ukraine had already survived three winters of full-scale war and was preparing for a fourth. "This [surviving the winter] can only be done through joint efforts, and let's use this conference to move forward in this direction. I thank… for the EU's continued support in helping Ukraine overcome its energy problems. We must continue to ensure the protection of our people," the Ukrainian president said. Zelenskiy added that Putin "has only two real allies – terror and winter, and we must respond to both."

How much will the rebuild cost?

The World Bank estimates that Russia has done $528bn worth of damage to Ukraine. While its allies have provided a total of €133bn of merely budgetary aid so far, they have not committed any funding to the eventual reconstruction of the economy.

The only money that has been allotted on paper is some $75bn by the international financial institutions (IFIs), according to the Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE). Ukraine has a mountain to climb.

Prime Minister Denis Shmyhal, speaking at the conference, put the overall cost even higher, at €1 trillion over the next 14 years.

"Our concept envisages the establishment of two funds totalling $1 trillion. The first is the Ukraine Fund worth $540bn, which is how much the World Bank estimates Ukraine's restoration will cost. This fund will comprise confiscated Russian assets, as well as a special tax on the export of Russian raw materials,” Shmyhal told delegates at the conference. “The second fund is the European structural fund in support of Ukraine worth $460bn. This will be a platform for European private sector investment in Ukrainian production."

However, the situation might not be quiet as bad as it appears. The worst damage has been done to the towns and villages that lie on the front line, and in the east of the country and are now under Russian occupation. If the reconstruction money is only used for those settlements that remain under the Kyiv government’s control then the cost of that work might fall to some $200bn, say senior development bankers that spoke to bne IntelliNews. Then the gap between what the IFIs have already committed and what the private capital, local entrepreneurs and government can raise becomes a lot smaller.

Weapons aid

Other allies promised Ukraine not only reconstruction funds, but more weapons.

Ukraine is facing a crisis as it runs low on air defence ammo, a crisis made worse after the Trump administration halted all new weapons deliveries to Ukraine this week. However, in the last few days Trump said he would reverse that decision but has, of the time of writing, promised a total of 10 new Patriot interceptor rockets – enough down only five Russian missiles. Russia fired a total of 18 missiles on July 9 alone, according to Zelenskiy.

Germany is prepared to buy Patriot air defence systems from the United States and provide them to Ukraine, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said in Rome.

"We are also prepared to purchase additional Patriot systems from the US to make them available to Ukraine," Merz said at a conference on Ukraine support, where he discussed air defence with President Zelenskiy and other leaders.

Merz said he had asked Trump last week to deliver the Patriots, adding: "The Americans need some of them themselves, but they also have a lot of them. ... It has not yet been finalised whether a delivery will be made."

Germany is part of the coalition of the willing, the four leading European powers that are increasingly taking over the burden of supplying and supporting Ukraine.

The UK is also promising to supply Kyiv with 5,000 desperately needed air defence missiles. The deliveries will be made under a loan agreement that the parties will sign in the near future. In addition, the UK will support the allocation of up to GBP283mn ($323.6mn) in bilateral aid to Ukraine over the next year. The loan repayment period for Ukraine will be 19 years, Vedomosti reported on July 10.

Finally, UK Defence Secretary John Healey said on July 10 Britain is prepared to send peacekeepers should a ceasefire be reached. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron have restarted the peacekeeper talks, despite abandoning the idea earlier this year. The UK and France would provide the core military presence, though the initiative also relies on US backing, said Healey.

“The Prime Minister has always been clear that he’s ready to put troops into Ukraine to help reinforce a ceasefire,” Healey stated.