Ukraine

In view of the significant reconstruction needs, Luxembourg’s Development Cooperation has endeavoured to strengthen its commitment to the country’s recovery. It was against that background that Minister Franz Fayot made a working visit to Ukraine in September 2023, where he had the opportunity to meet with Yuliia Svyrydenko, Ukraine’s First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Economy, Oleksandr Kubrakov, Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister for Restoration and Minister for Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Development, and Serhiy Marchenko, Ukraine’s Minister of Finance. In addition to meeting with the three ministers, Minister Fayot made a field visit to the landmine clearance site of the humanitarian NGO Halo Trust, which has been supported by Luxembourg’s Development Cooperation since 2022.

In October 2023, Luxembourg’s Development Cooperation asked LuxDev to identify regional and sectoral cooperation support that is aligned with reconstruction needs in Ukraine. While the support is currently being developed, the plans are to provide assistance to the education, training and labour market integration sector, as well as the private sector, in the Kryvyi Rih region. At the end of December 2023, Luxembourg’s Development Cooperation decided to provide support to the Business Development Fund (BDF), a public financial institution, in order to facilitate access to bank financing for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises.

Multilaterally, Luxembourg has provided financial support to an FAO agricultural rehabilitation and recovery project and is supporting a UNICEF reconstruction project, which aims to provide remedial learning opportunities for children who have fallen behind due to extended school closures. In addition, Luxembourg’s Development Cooperation has supported the Ukraine Community Recovery Fund, managed by the office of the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Ukraine, which will enable the various UN agencies to implement coordinated reconstruction projects.

In the field of inclusive finance, since December 2023 Luxembourg has been supporting the Luxembourg House of Financial Technology (LHoFT) to help Ukrainian fintech companies achieve their financial inclusion goals. In addition, Luxembourg has decided to mobilise the Agence de Transfert de Technologie Financière (ATTF) in order to provide additional training support in the banking and financial field in Ukraine.

In view of the precarious humanitarian situation, financial humanitarian aid amounted to more than EUR 5.5 million in 2023, both through humanitarian NGOs, the International Red Cross and Red Crescent movement and UN agencies, and also through the Ukrainian government’s “Grain from Ukraine” initiative which, in cooperation with the World Food Programme (WFP), aims to enable Ukraine to maintain its key role as a guarantor of global food security. In addition, Luxembourg’s Development Cooperation provided 100 generators to Ukraine to support the country’s preparations for the winter season.

In total, since the beginning of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Luxembourg has contributed humanitarian financial contributions worth around EUR 13.4 million, as well as EUR 10.3 million in support of the country’s recovery. In addition, in-kind support, including the provision of communications equipment and donations of medical and fire-fighting equipment, totalled an estimated EUR 5.3 million.