Zelensky calls for international assistance to rebuild Ukraine

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has called for international aid to help rebuild his devastated country once the war is over, sounding a rare hopeful note after four months of brutal conflict.
"It is necessary not only to repair everything the occupiers have destroyed, but also to create a new foundation for our lives: safe, modern, comfortable, accessible," he said in a speech late on Saturday.
This would require "colossal investments, billions, new technologies, best practices, new institutions and, of course, reforms," he said.
"No matter how difficult it is for us today, we must remember that there will be a tomorrow," Zelensky said.
On Monday, a meeting of some 40 potential donor countries is due to take place in Lugano, Switzerland, where the Ukrainian government intends to present its priorities for the reconstruction of the war-ravaged country for the first time.
Zelensky also used his video address to remind Ukrainians that the war was far from over. "Its cruelty is increasing in some places, and it cannot be forgotten," he said, appealing to his compatriots to offer assistance to victims of the brutal conflict.