Zelensky agrees to Ukraine rebuild investment with BlackRock CEO

BlackRock CEO Larry Fink and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky agreed to coordinate investment efforts to reconstruct Ukraine during a video conference this week.

Zelensky’s office made the announcement on Wednesday. It came after Ukraine’s economic ministry signed a memorandum of understanding in November for BlackRock to provide advisory support for designing an investment framework.

“Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Larry Fink agreed to focus in the near term on coordinating the efforts of all potential investors and participants in the reconstruction of our country, channelling investment into the most relevant and impactful sectors of the Ukrainian economy,” a readout of the call from Zelensky’s office states.

Zelensky previously spoke with Fink in September, and Kyiv also indicated some BlackRock leaders will visit Ukraine next year.

BlackRock spokesman Marc Bubeck deferred comment to the company’s announcement of the memorandum of understanding last month.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine entered its 11th month over the weekend, and Ukraine has signaled hope for a peace summit by the end of February.

Ukraine has suffered widespread damages in cities across the country, and Russia in particular has targeted Ukraine’s energy infrastructure in recent weeks as colder temperatures arrived at the start of winter.

The Kyiv School of Economics in November estimated the damages amounted to $135.9 billion.