Poland to direct aid to Kharkiv region says deputy FM

Poland will focus on the Kharkiv region while helping Ukraine rebuild itself after the devastating war against Russia, a Polish deputy foreign minister has said.

"We had agreed much earlier... namely Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and his Ukrainian counterpart, Denys Shmyhal, that Poland will focus on this region," Paweł Jabłoński told a Polish public radio programme on Tuesday and added that first projects had already been launched there.

He made the statement after an international conference on rebuilding Ukraine had outlined a series of principles to steer Kyiv's recovery. Representatives from more than 40 countries and international organisations like the European Investment Bank and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) signed up to the Lugano Declaration at the two-day conference in Switzerland.

According to Jabłoński, the rebuilding of Ukraine should start today in the regions which are safe.

"Ukraine must have an economic ability to resist the pressure," the deputy minister continued, adding that Russia had also been conducting an economic war against that country.

"Polish businessmen should also be given the opportunity to benefit from Ukraine's rebuilding but funds should come from confiscated Russian assets," Jabłoński said.