Allies seek big-business investment to rebuild Ukraine at London conference

By JILL LAWLESS
Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — Diplomats from dozens of countries are meeting in London to drum up funds to rebuild Ukraine. That’s a mammoth task whose cost is estimated by the World Bank at more than $400 billion — a figure rising daily alongside the human toll of the 16-month war. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is due to announce a new U.S. assistance package at the Ukraine Recovery Conference. Blinken, U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen are among representatives of more than 60 countries at the conference. The two-day gathering is both a fundraising forum and a message to Russia that Ukraine’s allies are in it for the long haul.