Allies pledge billions for Ukraine rebuilding and seek big-business investment at London conference

By JILL LAWLESS
Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — Ukraine’s allies have pledged several billion dollars in non-military aid to rebuild the country’s war-ravaged infrastructure, cut corruption and help pave its road to eventual membership in the European Union. Diplomats and political leaders at the Ukraine Recovery Conference in London urged private-sector companies to help revive an economy battered by almost a year and a half of war. The cost of reconstruction is estimated by the World Bank at more than $400 billion. Delegates from more than 60 countries are attending a conference that is both a fundraising forum and a message to Russia that Ukraine’s allies are in it for the long haul.