UN Secretary General Guterres calles for Ukraine's reconstruction to begin now

Ukrinform reported the statement with reference to Guterres' video address to the participants of the International Conference on the Reconstruction of Ukraine, which was held in Switzerland on July 4-5.

"Russia’s war in Ukraine has taken thousands of lives and forcibly displaced millions of people. Millions of Ukrainians have lost their livelihoods — and 90 per cent are at risk of falling into poverty. This is a long road, but it must start now," said UN Secretary General António Guterres.

He also noted that it will take years to restore destroyed houses, schools, hospitals and other important infrastructure facilities.

According to António Guterres, in cooperation with the Ukrainian government and more than 300 local partners, the UN is providing life-saving assistance to almost 9 million people.