After more than 100 days of intense fighting, it is difficult to begin thinking about rebuilding Ukraine when Russian bombs are still raining down on innocent civilians.
But it is precisely during times of crisis and disaster that we must consider what comes next. Above all, leading Western powers need to play a central role in supporting the country’s reconstruction.
To that end, the European Commission recently proposed establishing a “Rebuild Ukraine” facility to channel grants and loans to the country. But Ukraine’s large financial needs will require the European Union to identify new funding sources, which should include the Russian central bank’s frozen foreign-exchange reserves, as well as funds previously confiscated from Russian state enterprises and assets seized from sanctioned Russian oligarchs.