'Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal said that on behalf of the President, the government is preparing a plan to restore the country.''Ukraine is beginning preparations for the reconstruction of cities, communities and infrastructure destroyed by the Russian occupiers. This was announced by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at a meeting of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, which was held as a video conference.
The head of state said that the Russian leadership, in deciding to invade Ukraine, hoped for an internal split in our country, that Ukrainians would not be able to unite for victory. But two months of resistance showed that Russian leaders were wrong.
“Every day, while the whole country is fighting against the Russian invaders, we as a central and local government with our friends and partners must spend on preparations for the postwar restoration of our state,” Zelenskyy said.
..
Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal said that on behalf of the President, the government is preparing a plan to restore the country.
“We want not just to rebuild, but we want and will make better and more modern everything that was destroyed by Russian barbarians. It also means that there will be a major transformation of the Ukrainian economy after the war. We must build a new Ukraine together with you – strong and European,” he said.
The prime minister also said that Ukraine has managed to maintain the country administration system – central and local authorities are functioning as a single team, and local authorities are organizing the defense of their communities, providing assistance to displaced persons, and backing up the home front.
According to Shmyhal, the government has allocated UAH 1.4 billion to restore critical infrastructure in five regions. Reconstruction and clearing of roads, restoration of electricity supply, demining of territories are underway – more than 85,000 explosive devices have been neutralized, he said.'
-
Today we can not only successfully defend Ukraine, but also work on its postwar reconstruction, – President Zelensky, April 28, 2022
'He welcomed debates about whether to provide "offensive or defensive support" and which kinds of systems. "In a military mind, there's not much difference between an offensive and defensive weapon system," he said.
"Russia is really not in a position to challenge the West and expand this war, so we should lean forward and give the Ukrainians what they need now, with the intent that they can be successful and place themselves in a position of strength from which to negotiate," Scaparrotti said.
"And we can do that if we continue to provide them that equipment and provide them the training they need for newer equipment as well, which is another part of this conversation. They're brave -- a brave people -- and we need to provide them all the support they need."
He said the Ukraine war is among the lessons demonstrating "that we have to look at the transatlantic as a whole" and that each country needs to understand "this is a connected world today -- even a fight that Russia intends to be limited to Ukraine."
"They've said it's a 'special operation,' not a war, yet we all see that we're affected, that it's connected globally, that it impacts us all," Scaparrotti said. "And I think we need to look at it that way. We need to think strategically. We need to think long term."
Putin and his circle, he said, leverage distinctions and differences, "and they always have." He cited "splitting NATO" among Putin's "consistent objectives."
"We should give [Putin] less opportunity to do so," Scaparrotti said. "Now, having said that, each of these countries within NATO makes their own sovereign decisions. And I would hope that, over time, Germany, for instance, one of the most prosperous countries within Europe, will choose to put themselves in a better position with respect to energy so that they can be a bigger player in the long term, the right player, without risk to the population, which is part of their concern today."
The Russian nuclear threats, implied or otherwise, are part of a perceived credibility problem that Scaparrotti thinks Putin has created for himself more than two decades since the former KGB colonel was appointed to succeed outgoing President Boris Yeltsin.
"I think Putin's reputation as a world leader is eternally damaged here, and his ability to reenter as a respectable leader on the world stage is done," he said. "And I think Russia needs to understand the damage that's been done to them as a nation among nations. We cannot seek the former status quo."
He said Putin remains determined "to seek his objectives of a sphere of influence in the east [and] of destabilizing the international rules-based order."
"He's continually said that for years, and I don't think that this will dampen his enthusiasm if he were to reach some negotiated position that satisfies him for the time being."
Scaparrotti warned that the damage and alleged atrocities committed by Russia shouldn't be overlooked in pursuit of peace in the short term.
"If we do, I believe we will have to confront Russia and their aggression again in the future," he said.'
-
Former U.S., NATO Commander Says Putin's War In Ukraine Has Left Russia 'Vulnerable As A Nation', April 28, 2022
ContextUkraine says Russia pounding Donbas, failing to take targets, April 30, 2022
The Russian president is a prisoner of his own delusions – and the similarities with Hitler are hard to ignore(Russia's war of brutality) - 'There's little denying at this point that Russia's invasion of Ukraine has been an unmitigated military and economical disaster..'(Cult of the dead) - The problem: [the] imperial structure of Russia and .. its imperialist mindset