Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described the reconstruction of Ukraine after the war as Europe's biggest economic project as he addressed parliament in Kiev on Wednesday.
Zelensky called on parliamentarians to draft laws that would attract entrepreneurs and investors, according to media reports. According to the presidential administration, Zelensky also held a video conference with the head of the investment company Blackrock, Larry Fink, on the topic of reconstruction.
Ukrainians who have fled abroad should be brought back into the country, Zelensky said.
Ukraine is making its arms industry one of the world's most advanced with the aim of restoring Ukraine's territorial integrity, Zelensky said. More than $30 billion should be spent on the country's defence in the coming years, he said, according to the Kiev TV channel Freedom.
The president also set a goal for the coming year to free all Ukrainians who have been captured by Russia as prisoners of war. Since the beginning of the war in February, 1,456 people have returned home, he said.
