Ukraine war: Billionaire Andrew Forrest launches $25bn fund for reconstruction

Australian mining billionaire Andrew Forrest has launched a money that is hoped to beryllium worthy astatine slightest $25bn (£21bn) to assistance rebuild war-torn Ukraine.

Mr Forrest and his woman person committed $500m to the fund, which its organisers anticipation could yet turn to $100bn.

The Ukraine Green Growth Initiative says it plans to put successful superior infrastructure specified arsenic vigor and telecoms networks.

President Zelensky welcomed the move.

"We volition instrumentality vantage of the information that what the Russians person destroyed tin readily beryllium replaced with the latest, astir modern greenish and integer infrastructure," Mr Zelensky said.

The money said it had been moving with Larry Fink, the president of concern elephantine BlackRock, and hopes to summation the enactment of sovereign wealthiness funds and different nonrecreational investors.

Since starting enactment connected the money successful aboriginal March, Mr Forrest said helium had discussed the program with a fig of satellite leaders including US President Joe Biden, then-UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

"The president [Zelensky] sees that arsenic an accidental to wholly regenerate aged coal-fired [and] atomic powerfulness stations with marque caller greenish energy," Mr Forrest told the BBC.

"That superior would beryllium disposable the instant that the Russian forces person been removed from the homelands of Ukraine," helium added.

Mr Forrest made his luck from Australia's mining boom. He is the laminitis and enforcement president of robust ore elephantine Fortescue Metals.

In caller years helium has turned his attraction to sustainable technology, with initiatives to decarbonise his mining operations and go a large shaper of greenish hydrogen.

The Russian penetration of Ukraine has seen ample parts of the country's infrastructure destroyed oregon damaged.

Recent Russian rocket attacks person targeted Ukraine's vigor web including its energy procreation plants.

In July Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said it would outgo $750bn for the state to retrieve from the war, which had caused $100bn of nonstop harm to infrastructure.

This week Russia angrily rejected planetary calls for it to wage for warfare harm it has inflicted successful Ukraine.

It came aft the UN General Assembly passed a solution saying Russia should look the consequences of its actions, including paying reparations.

General Assembly resolutions transportation symbolic value but bash not person the powerfulness to enforce compliance.

The Kremlin said it would enactment to halt the West seizing its planetary reserves to wage for reparations.