The key principles of Ukraine's reconstruction are "'Build Back Better' and 'Build Back Greener'. This was emphasised by Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources Ruslan Strilets in his speech during the Ukraine Green Recovery Conference in Vilnius.

"We appreciate that our partners are now ready to help us move from ruins to green transformation. As President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, rebuilding is not only about what we have to do after the victory, but also what we need to do right now," the Minister said.

According to him, Ukraine's current achievements are as follows:

• focuses on green projects. Those will create up to 4.2 million green jobs, compensating for the losses caused by the war;
• adopts the relevant European integration laws. They are aimed at bringing Ukraine closer to the EU and shortening the way for potential investors to come to us;
• attracts investors and develops projects for the construction of new European-standard waste processing plants. Twenty such projects are at the launch stage - in Odesa, Kyiv, and Poltava, which are subject to daily shelling. And also in Ivano-Frankivsk, which is working in the rear for our country's economy;
• launched the Climate Office in Ukraine together with German partners. It is a tool that will allow us to attract green finance for post-war recovery;
• restores forests. The EU plans to plant 3 billion trees, while Ukraine has set a target of 1 billion trees and has already completed its programme by almost 44%;
• opens centres for growing seedlings. As of today, there are 7 of them in Ukraine;
• launched a large-scale reform of the forestry sector;
• completes the digitalisation of the forest. We have introduced a number of electronic services that allow us to effectively control the movement of timber.

"We are doing all this today despite the war. We are defending our country. We are moving towards the EU. We are planning and already building a common future with all civilised countries of the world. I am grateful to the EU for creating the Ukraine Facility. This is crucial and will enable Ukraine, with the support of the EU, to move confidently towards achieving climate neutrality, building a circular economy, modernising our industry to the best standards and restoring our natural resources. I am grateful to all international partners who support our country on this path. This support, provided today, will have its results tomorrow," said Ruslan Strilets.