Nobel prize winner Matviychuk: Legal mechanisms needed to use Russia’s frozen assets for Ukraine recovery

Nobel Peace Prize laureate, human rights activist Oleksandra Matviychuk said this during the panel discussion "Developing the Marshall Plan for Ukraine: why Ukraine's victory will benefit everyone" at the 30th BookForum in Lviv, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

"We have to increase our economic stability. And we have the opportunity not only to depend on the funds of Western taxpayers. One and a half trillion rubles has been frozen abroad – these are Russian state assets. We need to find legal mechanisms, ways to use these money and direct it to the restoration of Ukraine. And it’s not only about the need to restore, but also to modernize the country," Matviychuk said.

She also emphasized that now it is necessary to talk about reconstruction during the ongoing war, not post-war efforts. After all, no one knows whether this is the final stage of the war or its mid-phase. It is important to convey the message to international partners that Ukraine needs recovery now. It is necessary to draw up development strategies and implement them for local communities.

"Russia is preparing for a long war as can be seen from their budget, which is being drafted for next year," Matviychuk added.

As reported by Ukrinform, the 30th BookForum will be held in Lviv from October 4 to 8. The focal topic of this year's event is "Census of the Future". The program includes 150 events, of which 25 will be livestreamed on the website. Fifty publishing houses will be represented at the book fair. The forum will host stands of comics and books about the Russo-Ukrainian war and presentations of books by Ukrainian authors.