He told the audience, “They are trying to destroy the infrastructure of our cities and towns and leave Ukraine without water, heat and electricity in the winter.”
He was addressing Kyiv Investment Forum via a video link from Kyiv which he described as a “majestic city that has always been a symbol of the struggle for freedom.”
He said, “It was in Kyiv that two Maidans took place. This was to defend their democratic rights.
“Today, Ukraine is once again fighting for its freedom.It is challenging but we will not give up.”
The Mayor, who was unable to attend the conference in person, said, “The defence of the city has proved too tough for the Russians. Russia cannot defeat Ukraine on the battlefield. They have changed their tactics and carrying out terrorist attacks.They are trying to destroy the infrastructure of our cities and towns and leave us without water, heat and electricity in winter.
“We are fighting for our freedom but we will recover everything and make our country even better.”
He said he was “thankful to everyone who supports Ukraine” adding, “ we need the help and support of all our friends.”
In order to “created comfortable conditions for the life, work and education of our citizen” he said “We need investment and innovation.”
He added, “We will discuss this first at the forum in Brussels.”
He said he welcomed “everyone who cares about the fate of Ukraine and who wants to participate in the fate, recovery and future of the city and Ukraine.”
This year the Forum, held on Monday, focused its discussion on the resilience of Kyiv in light of the war. It look at the ways of rebuilding and strengthening the Kyiv metropolitan area “in line with digitization, technological solutions and social economic integration that contributes to the broader public good, faster restoration of Ukraine, sustainable and equitable economic system for further EU integration.”
Top European and Ukrainian government officials, prominent representatives of public and private sectors met at City Hall to discuss the challenges Kyiv is facing at the moment as well as its post-war recovery within three key areas: resilience, innovation and sustainability.
The Forum sought to unite global financial institutions and private investors to work on efficient multi-sector investment tools to deal with the consequences of the war and develop a plan for recovery and modernization of Kyiv metropolis.
It was the first time the forum has been held outside Ukraine.
