which we are talking about, we cannot do without private capital, the restoration of ukraine is and must become a matter of business. ahead will be those who started to act early, who are already cultivating and expanding economic ties with ukraine. as for the german economy, i say: you do. hundreds of german companies are actively working in ukraine, 35,000 people work in the automotive industry alone. despite the war, the outflow of german investments is not observed. our mutual trade turnover has significantly increased compared to the pre-war period period regarding the new investment guarantees of the federal government, ukraine is in the first place here. the number of members of our foreign trade chamber in kyiv increased by 60% last year. this shows that business understands ukraine's potential. ukraine is a large

country, a country with a highly educated population. despite the severe consequences of the war, the economy is forecast to grow this year. now, first of all, investments in the construction industry are revitalizing the economy, but the agricultural sector is also a global player. export agricultural production has reached a military level, and this is an extraordinary achievement and extremely important for food security. the whole world ukraine has great potential in the field of renewable energy and hydrogen, as well as in emerging industries such as digital transformation, it, armaments, healthcare technology and pharmaceuticals. that is why our conference especially focuses on these areas. when we talk about the restoration of ukraine, we are talking about the restoration of the country, a future member of the european union. in a few months. after a few

months, after the start of the full-scale invasion, we together made a promise to ukraine about ukraine's future in the european union, and we will keep it. since that time, ukraine began its path to the eu in extremely difficult conditions. despite the war, she is working step by step on reforms. we support it because we are convinced that effective management at all levels, a consistent fight against corruption, and an inclusive society are prerequisites for the participation of the private sector in a successful recovery. in the ukraine facility plan, ukraine clearly prescribed the implementation of reforms. in in february, the european union provided assistance in the amount of 50 billion euros. this plan is a guideline

, including for private business. we support private initiatives in ukraine as much as we can. in order to support small and medium-sized enterprises on the occasion of the conference, we created an international alliance. together with partners from the world bank, the japanese agency for international cooperation, we support, for example, the business development fund. the kfv serves as an example for us. without further ado, dear ursolo, we are working hard to improve access to equity capital for ukrainian entrepreneurs. together with the european commission, national and international partners. we are on the right track to stimulate private investment in a key sector of the ukrainian economy. in the ukrainian

business guide, for example, we have collected all support tools for entrepreneurs who want to work in ukraine. together with the usa, we initiated the creation of an economic council that will advise ukraine and donor countries. the first meeting was held yesterday. you will become the voice of the economy and the motor of the institutional reforms and modernization of the economy. first. the chairman will be dr. christian bruch, president of iso siems energy. let me say, this is an excellent choice. because the issue of energy is one of the main ones on the agenda for us. every day, russia fires at ukrainian energy infrastructure. despite constant attacks. so far,

it is possible to keep the power supply in working condition. we also helped not only with the protection and repair of substations and networks. but also investments in decarbonization and energy efficiency, in creating a decentralized sustainable energy supply. in the energy sector , ukraine is already part of the eu. since we connected our shores in march 22, ukraine has been exporting excess electricity to the eu. and thus it contributes to our energy security. and it makes it obvious. as for the recovery of ukraine in general, it benefits everyone involved. it's the people, that's where i started. this also characterizes our conference. it was important for ukraine and germany that

representatives of regions, communes and civil society were with us today. there is another group which cannot be forgotten when we talk about recovery. and the odds associated with it. i mean the large number of ukrainian men and women who found refuge in germany from russian military terror, in germany alone, it is more than a million people. none of us can say today when the war will end, but we can say it will end. we will rebuild ukraine, stronger, freer, richer than before. and those millions... of ukrainian men and women who live in our countries today can become living towns, women and men who speak the languages ​​of the countries in which they now live, who work here today, who can play an important role in the restoration of ukraine tomorrow, these are the people,

welcome to berlin. president of ukraine volodymyr zelenskyi.

thank you. we thank you. olaf, olaf. i want to thank you, ursula, all our friends who support us, i want to thank germany, all your people, for everything you have done for ukraine. glory to ukraine. i said, i'm not sure all of that you understood, dear. ursula, dear participants, participants of the conference, for we are honored to be here today. thank you for your attention to ukraine and ukrainians, for your support in our defense of life, life that

must defeat the russian war. dear friends, this war has different, different levels. confrontation, front, i.e. land, sky and sea, where our people defend themselves from the military strikes of the russian occupier, our economic protection, the need to preserve all the basics of normal social life, jobs for people, taxes for the state and local communities, the ability of entrepreneurs to support and expand work in which we are all together we have to counter russia's attempts to split and weaken the democratic world, and the battle to motivate people for the very sense of whether

normal life holds its ground, to withstand and win such a confrontation. this is complex work. this is an effort both in the defense of ukraine against russian aggression, and in ensuring the stability of our society against any blows of this war and the preservation of ours. of the common european way of life with you, a life from which nothing remains wherever putin comes, wherever putin's russia comes. first, it comes with a split and a hybrid war, as in moldova, as in georgia, and then as a total war, as against. the state of ukraine. so, the first is the front. for more than

two years of this war, ukrainians have proven that we are capable of knocking out the occupier from our territory and achieving the necessary victories for ukraine. we can expel the russian army from our land. we won the black sea for ukraine. and they proved that... thanks to modern air defense systems , we can destroy any russian missiles and drones. what is the key here? the ability to deprive russia of this or that advantage? as of now, russia's greatest strategic advantage over ukraine is superiority in the sky. this is missile and bomb terror that helps russian troops. to advance on the ground, and russian hatred to destroy life, the lives of ukrainian men and women,

life in our cities and villages, only guided air bombs daily up to a hundred, sunday 80 guided air strikes, monday 95 guided air bombs, this is insanely destructive pressure, plus missiles, plus shock. until we deprive russia of this opportunity, the opportunity to terrorize ukraine, putin will not have it genuine interest in seeking an honest peace, and his illusion that ukraine can be erased by destroying with bombs and missiles everything that gives life a basis and protection will remain unchanged, air defense is the answer. thanks olaf, germany

is already one of the global leaders in helping us with air defense, i want to thank all your manufacturers too, separately for the irises, it really helped a lot, so thanks for the patriots, irises, other tools. which are literally salvation for ukraine. we managed to provide partial protection against russian airstrikes. we have and we can do more. we need at least patriot systems, in addition, to close our main urban agglomerations in the near future, and this will be the driver of maintaining the normal life in ukraine, which our people so deserve. that is, direct aid to the defense and a guarantee that the economic

life of the country will not be destroyed. dear mr. chancellor, olaf, i thank you once again for supporting ukraine in air defense issues, and here in berlin there is also mark kruete, the prime minister of the netherlands, and together with germany, together with the netherlands, together with the united states and by our others. partners, we are working now to provide ukraine with more air defense, and we are already seeing how and when we can deliver new systems to ukraine, when they are operational to protect our people, this will be a significant restoration of confidence, confidence that peace is coming. second, one of putin's main targets in ukraine is... energy. from the first years of his reign , he considers energy resources,

energy generation and energy consumption as a weapon, a tool for influencing and subduing nations. europe has already faced this many times. ukraine is currently suffering from the most destructive form of the russian vision of energy as a weapon. as a result of the strikes of russian missiles and drones, it has already been destroyed. 9 gigawatts of power, despite the fact that the peak of energy consumption in ukraine last winter was 18 gigawatts, so half of it does not exist now, but the numbers themselves do not sound: what is 9 gigawatts: berlin is about two gigawatts of demand. munich is about 3 gv. we have already lost several times more generation than the energy consumption of large

cities. 80% of thermal generation in ukraine, a third of hydro... generation, they are simple destroyed by putin, and this is not the limit of his terror, unfortunately, but we must set a limit and start energy recovery. dear friends, we have to do everything possible and impossible in order to preserve the existing generation and restore the lost generation as much as possible, and this task is important not only in ukrainian. prospects putin is trying to sharpen the practice of destroying energy objects with strikes on ukraine, from ordinary thermal power plants and dumps to such elements of energy systems as gas storages and interconnectors that connect our the energy system with the european one, therefore

rebuilt in ukraine now, repaired, protected will be a double result. will serve ukraine and europe. to serve as a base, a power base for decades to come, and will also be proof that russia's arsenal will not retain a weapon like the blackout. ukraine has all the natural basis for modern energy. but without your lending and investment, we cannot... we can implement it, and this is not about grants, but about high-yield investments for your companies, about a large market for your equipment, about loan programs for your institutions, all this together with us, will create a new energy foundation, at least tens of thousands of new jobs and

provide both us and you with tangible economic growth. in a good perspective, we should also implement a quick and inexpensive restoration of all energy facilities that can be restored now. before winter, it's so important, before winter for the next three or four months. we know how to ensure this, we ask you for equipment from your, by the way, stopped power plants and direct financial support, this... will allow us to react to the situation here and now, to maintain normal life. another element: it is a highly efficient, decentralized, agile gas-fired generation that will solve today's energy shortages and tomorrow will be converted to hydrogen and balance the new green energy. it is

in this field that european and, in particular, german companies are... technological leaders, it is in this field that we have a clear plan to build up to 1 htucity already this year, i emphasize again, we need to talk not only about prospects, we need to solve problems today, today there is a war, this year there are 4 more grogs in the coming years, it is in this field, within the framework of our conference, we are signing... the first contracts, and for this we need your maximum leadership, primarily for the export credit project funding, and also your expertise and real experience, confirmed in particular by the german communities, is what will strengthen both our countries. the third point, the third point is politics. no matter how

the political mood in europe changes. fact our reality is like this. the european union is needed by all europeans, without exception. to every nation that shares the common values ​​of all of europe and wants to live like us, to live in peace. ukrainians are such a nation. like our neighbors in moldova, like the people of georgia, like the balkan states and others who respect europe, freedom and the rule of law. the time will surely come for a free belarus, belarus in europe, as of right now, ukraine has already done everything that was

necessary for the actual opening of negotiations on our country's membership in the european union. all prerequisites are implemented. this june should be the time when the negotiating framework will be approved and the negotiations themselves will begin. why is this necessary, because it is the fulfillment of the promises that europe makes, and it is proof that europe cannot be broken, neither by pressure, nor by artificial doubts, or by any manipulation. and the fourth is motivation. in the 20th century, europe underwent a large-scale recovery. a continent that was battered by world... wars, europe was reborn as a force without which global life cannot be imagined today, everything in europe and social power worked for this

countries, and production traditions and industrial culture of europeans and in particular germans, and a correctly chosen path and interaction with the global world, but the basis of all this was specific decisions, specific... agreements, business ideas, specific projects that worked. at the beginning of this year, when we were negotiating with olaf, mr. chancellor, about this conference, i really asked that it be as practical and concrete as possible, that we come out of this conference not only with rhetoric, but with agreements, with agreements, which will become economic growth for our countries and with new strength. for our communities, ukraine and germany, and i am glad that this was the nature of the conference . currently, both at the governmental level, and

at the level of communities, and at the level of companies, preparations are being made for the conclusion of hundreds of agreements between us. also present here are our friends from partner countries and not only from europe, we will come out of this conference with agreements worth billions of euros, and for our defense regarding production in ukraine. military equipment and weapons, and for our energy industry, for repairs and development of a new and more modern energy industry, and for our social life, and this applies in particular to education in communities, construction, housing, supply of medical equipment. separately, i want to note the support of entrepreneurship in ukraine, and mr. chancellor has already said this today, this is all that adds to us. resilience in the face of war and the feeling that life is all the same, life will win anyway. i

am absolutely sure that ukraine will implement its project of national recovery, and it will become a project of european recovery, can it happen without germany, definitely not. and this is exactly the case when global german force will have an obvious confirmation, confirmation by the force of ukrainian life. thank you again for the invitation, thank you olaf, thank you urchla, partners. we are very grateful, thank you for the support of your people, above all, the people of your country, who sheltered so many of our people, they are very genuine, i think it is even. the most important thing that unites them is their values, they are whole, very honest and very, very, very brave. thank you, glory to ukraine.

please welcome now the president of the european commission, ursela funder lion.

first lady, dear elena, presidents, prime ministers, ministers, your excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, almost 900 days have passed since the beginning of the russian full-scale aggression, but we know just as well what is at stake, we know that both sides of this conflict represent themselves . russia is fighting so that there is no ukraine. ukraine is fighting for the end of the war. russia is fighting for the past. ukraine is fighting for a better future. russia is destroying. ukraine defends. and nowhere is it visible, so good,

this contrast. is not as visible as in kharkiv, a city for which the cruel go battles 2 years ago, kharkiv residents and defenders rejected russian aggression, and since then they have only been building, rebuilding, opening new cultural centers, building plans and implementing them for a greener city, a city that lives as much by its traditional industry, industry, as by innovative startups , but now again russian bombs are falling like rain from the sky, targets are civilian structures, centers where life happens, city shopping and kharkiv's desire for freedom, and kharkiv needs our help, and that is why we have gathered today

in berlin putin must be defeated, ukraine must win, and we must help ukraine rise from the ashes and become the mistress of its own, its own future. and this means, first of all, that we must provide and provide ukraine with the means for self-defense. at last year's recovery conference. i said that we should transfer the assets, the frozen assets of the russian federation, to ukraine. and now we make it possible, in accordance with international legislation and also, maintaining the stability of financial markets, about 1.5

billions from these additional revenues will be available already in july, 10% will go to reconstruction and recovery, a large percentage will also go to defense and this week at the g7 summit we will discuss how ukraine can get even more profit and benefit from the frozen russian assets we are for... we have repeated, dear friends, we have always said that russia should be held accountable for all crimes, and now we will make them pay. dear ladies and gentlemen, rational

basis. this is the purpose of this conference it was always necessary to look beyond the primary needs and think about the future, about the economic renaissance of ukraine. last year in london, i presented the new ukraine facility in the amount of 50 billion euros to ensure long-term and stable support until 2027. and member states of the european. union supported us also thanks to your efforts, dear olaf, thank you for your tireless efforts. this facility fund is supported by the reform and investment plan, which is already working, 6 billion euros have already reached ukraine, and today in we will sign the first agreement in berlin.