Prime Minister Shmyhal blocked Nayyem’s participation at the Berlin conference because Nayyem was scheduled to present a report in Kyiv on his agency’s progress on reconstruction on June 12, according to an official with knowledge of the matter, granted anonymity to discuss nonpublic matters.
Rebuilding Ukraine
The total cost of rebuilding Ukraine over the next decade is estimated at $486 billion, which is about 2.8 times Ukraine’s economic output for 2023, the Ukrainian government said in a report. Russian attacks have destroyed more 800 Ukrainian power stations, or about 50 percent of energy generation in the country, Shmyhal said in May.
Halushka, of the International Center for Ukrainian Victory, said that after the latest Russian attacks on the energy infrastructure, “the ability of Ukraine to properly prepare for winter depends, without exaggeration, on the survival of our cities and towns.”
“All the forces of the government should be directed to solving this problem,” Halushka said.
Kubrakov and Nayyem, along with local governments, were responsible for building fortifications throughout Ukraine that were supposed to protect energy infrastructure.
But after a wave of Russian attacks on energy facilities this spring, doubts in the president’s office started to surface about the effectiveness of the work. The Ukrainian parliament cited the need for ministerial reforms when it approved Kubrakov’s dismissal in early May. A Ukrainian government official familiar with the matter cited political rivalry as the main reason for his dismissal.
Nayyem complained about bureaucratic “nightmares” in his Facebook post.
Both Nayyem and Kubrakov have earned praise for their performances from Ukrainian civil society and had good relations with foreign partners and even helped Ukraine’s anti-corruption authorities uncover corruption in the ruling party.
Zelenskyy’s office did not respond to a request for comment.