European leaders announce new equity fund for Ukraine and urge investment even as war accelerates

ROME — European leaders urged private business and equity on Thursday to invest in rebuilding Ukraine now, even as Russia accelerates its war, as they opened an annual recovery conference with announcements of a new equity fund and public-private partnerships amid uncertainties of the U.S. commitment to Kyiv's defense.

Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy kicked off the proceedings in Rome as Moscow pounded Ukraine's capital with another major missile and drone attack overnight in some of the heaviest attacks on Kyiv in the more than three-year war.

The conference is expected to finalize individual deals of guarantees and grants to unlock more than 10 billion euros (around $12 billion) in investments, Meloni said. The European Commission, for its part, announced the creation of the European Flagship Fund for the Reconstruction of Ukraine, the largest equity fund to date to support the country.

''The message we want to send today to businesses is: Don't be afraid to invest to build and rebuild Ukraine,'' Meloni told the gathering of business, political and development representatives. ''The reconstruction of Ukraine is not a risk. It's an investment in a nation that has shown more resilience than any other.''

Zelenskyy told the gathering that investing in Ukraine and especially its domestic defense industry was in Europe's own security interest.

''Ukraine has some of the world's most advanced drone technologies for both offensive and defensive use, and we are ready to share this expertise and these technologies with our partners," he said. "Ukraine needs investment, you need skills, you need technology, and everything we are building now to protect Ukraine will also help protect you.''

He thanked those countries and companies that have already invested and warned that only friends would be welcome to rebuild: ''We will only welcome true partners, those who are not helping Russia continue this war,'' he said, without naming specific nations.

Fourth such conference on Ukraine's recovery

Italian organizers said 100 official delegations were attending alongside 40 international organizations and development banks. Around 2,000 businesses, civil society and local Ukrainian governments also sent representatives. They are participating in a trade fair on the grounds of the ministerial-level meeting at Rome's funky new ''Cloud'' conference center.

It's the fourth such conference on Ukraine's recovery, with earlier editions in Lugano, Switzerland in 2022, London in 2023 and Berlin last year.

''It's basically a platform where a lot of businesses, European businesses and Ukrainian businesses, meet up and network, where you can actually see this public-private partnership in action, because obviously public money is not enough to undertake this gigantic effort of restructuring a country,'' said Eleonora Tafuro Ambrosetti, senior research fellow at the Milan-based Institute for International Political Studies, or ISPI.

The World Bank Group, European Commission and the United Nations have estimated that Ukraine's recovery after more than three years of war will cost $524 billion (€506 billion) over the next decade.

Ukraine's partners focusing on industries, issues

Alexander Temerko, a Ukrainian-British businessman, said that the Rome conference was different from its predecessors because it is focused on specific industries and issues, not just vague talk about the need to rebuild. The program includes practical workshops on such topics as ''de-risking'' investment, and panel discussions on investing in Ukraine's rare earth minerals, pharmaceutical and domestic defense industries.

''This is the first conference which is considering particularly projects in the energy sector, the mining sector, the metallurgical sector, the infrastructure sector, the transport sector, which need to be restored in Ukraine and during the war especially,'' he said.

In addition to Meloni and Zelenskyy, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof, European Commissioner Ursula von der Leyen as well as several other European prime ministers, economy and foreign ministers participated.

French President Emmanuel Macron remained in Britain with U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, but they and several of the participants in Rome spoke in a videoconference call Thursday of the ''coalition of the willing.'' These are the countries willing to deploy troops to Ukraine to police any future peace agreement with Russia.

Retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy to Ukraine and Russia, was in Rome and took part in the ''coalition of the willing'' videoconference in a first for Washington, Meloni said.

''I think this is a clear sign and a clear example of the unity that we're continuing to work for, for Ukraine's security and our security,'' Meloni said.

Zelenskyy met with Kellogg on Wednesday and planned talks with other U.S. officials to discuss the expected adoption of a new U.S. sanctions package, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Wednesday.

It was a reference to a bill sponsored by Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham and Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal, who are both in Rome, calling in part for a 500% tariff on goods imported from countries that continue to buy Russian oil. The move would have huge ramifications for China and India, two economic behemoths that buy Russian oil.

Coalition's success hinges on US backup

The success of the coalition of the willing's future operation hinges on U.S. backup with airpower or other military assistance, but the Trump administration has made no public commitment to provide support. And even current U.S. military support to Ukraine is in question.

On Wednesday, U.S. officials said the Trump administration had resumed sending some weapons to Ukraine, a week after the Pentagon had directed that some deliveries be paused.

Merz issued an impassioned plea to Washington, and Trump in particular, in his opening remarks.

''Stay with us and stay with the Europeans," he said. "We are on the same page and we are looking for a stable political order in this world.''

Kellogg responded in his own remarks, speaking in German and directing his remarks back to Merz: ''Auf Deutsch, wir sind heir. In German, we are here,'' he said.