Ursula von der Leyen co-hosted the event in the German capital, alongside German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
‘We have no time to waste’: EU’s von der Leyen
Von der Leyen told the conference that the world must not waste time but help Ukrainians rebuild their country swiftly.
She said: “We have no time to waste, the scale of destruction is staggering." She added that the World Bank had put the cost of the damage at EUR 350 billion (USD 345 billion).
She called for the launch of an international coordination platform for the reconstruction of Ukraine "as soon as possible," preferably before the end of this year or early next year.
‘A Marshall Plan for the 21st century’: Scholz
Meanwhile, the event’s other host, Germany's Scholz, called Russia's relentless drone attacks against Ukraine “a new low point” in Vladimir Putin’s invasion, adding that they were also “a sign of Moscow's desperation,” the PAP news agency reported.
In his opening remarks, Scholz said that his country’s experience showed it was "possible to rebuild" even after a devastating war, and so it was important to plan for Ukraine's future "as a prosperous and democratic European Union member" and an "exporter of green energy and high-tech goods," the Reuters news agency reported.
Addressing the assembled senior policymakers, NGO activists, academics and private-sector leaders, Scholz added, as quoted by Reuters: "This conference is about creating a Marshall Plan for the 21st century. The commitment to Ukraine as an EU member is one of the most consequential geopolitical decisions of our time."
‘Russia destroyed more than third of Ukraine’s energy sector’: Zelensky
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed the Berlin conference via video link from Kyiv, telling the gathering that Russian rockets and Iranian-made drones had destroyed more than a third of his country's energy facilities, according to Reuters.
"Russia is destroying everything so that it is harder for us to get through the winter," Zelensky said.
He added that Ukraine was ensuring “Europe’s physical security from Russian tyranny.”
“Ukraine will be a safeguard, ensuring that Russian fascism won’t break European values,” Zelensky said.
He urged the international community to help rebuild Ukraine and create a mechanism for Russia to pay compensation to Ukraine after the war, the PAP news agency reported.
The Ukrainian president said that Russian assets that have been frozen as part of EU sanctions against the Kremlin should be handed over to Ukraine, a measure also suggested by Poland, according to news outlets.
Zelensky described Russia as “a terrorist state” and told the Berlin conference that Ukraine had yet to receive "a single cent" towards a fast recovery plan worth a total USD 17 billion, according to Reuters.
‘Our shared goals will be attained’: Zelensky
The Ukrainian president said, as quoted by PAP: “This is what peace for Ukraine means, this is what victory means - Ukraine is a safeguard, ensuring security, ensuring our shared development."
He stressed: “We are achieving results that used to be unimaginable before, on the frontlines, or in integration with EU institutions, and we can achieve similar results also in the reconstruction of Ukraine."
Zelensky went on to say: “We have potential, we have it also thanks to you. Our dialogue continues and I hope it will develop, until we agree on concrete amounts, concrete figures. Let the aggressor see that its goal is unattainable, while our shared goals will be attained."
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and his Ukrainian counterpart Denys Shmyhal were among the senior politicians, NGO leaders and CEOs gathered in Berlin to discuss Ukraine's postwar reconstruction on Tuesday, according to officials.
Tuesday was day 244 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
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Source: PAP, Reuters, ec.europa.eu