Western countries have the "will" to help rebuild Ukraine and there is growing momentum among EU countries to see Ukraine join the bloc, Lithuanian Finance Minister Gintare Skaiste has said.
"What I see from the Western allies is a wish and will to participate in the reconstruction of Ukraine and to dedicate a certain amount of needed funds," Skaiste told RFE/RL in an interview on April 21 in Washington, where she is attending the annual spring meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Ukraine is "topic No. 1" at the meetings this week, she said, as member states work on meeting Kyiv's immediate financial needs -- such as paying teachers and doctors -- while also discussing how to go about rebuilding the country when the war with Russia is over.
Lithuanian Finance Minister Gintare Skaiste
Russia's unprovoked attack on Ukraine, which is about to enter its third month, has ravaged the country's economy, with factories, bridges, and housing complexes destroyed and budget funds going toward defense needs. The IMF this week forecast that Ukraine's economy will contract by slightly more than one-third this year.
Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov told Reuters earlier this this week that the Russian invasion had damaged about $100 billion worth of infrastructure.
Skaiste said it is too early to say how much Ukraine will need to rebuild its economy because there is no end in sight yet for the war. She said governments, financial institutions, and private investors would be participants in the rebuilding.
She said there were currently several postwar reconstruction plans and recommended that one body -- such as the World Bank or the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development -- oversee all the efforts to ensure their effectiveness.
"I think we could have more synergies if there would be one coordinating institution," she said.
Skaiste said any rebuilding plans should incorporate Ukraine's likely future as a member of the European Union, including reorienting trade further away from Russia.
Ukraine has been seeking EU membership for years, but some key members have been reluctant to allow such a large and poor economy into the bloc. Skaiste said she sensed a change.
"What I see is that the general mood is changing. There is a general perception that, yes, Ukraine should be the member of European Union. The question is, how fast and what will be the plan of accession. But definitely, there is the support for the membership of Ukraine and Moldova accession to the European Union quite fast," she said, adding that Lithuania supported membership for both countries.
Skaiste said Lithuania also backed imposing EU sanctions on Russian oil and gas. Energy exports to the EU account for the lion's share of Russia's budget revenue, enabling it to fund its military.
Skaiste said she believes the EU could end Russian oil imports by the end of this year and gas imports by the end of 2024.
The EU receives about one-quarter of its oil from Russia and about 40 percent of its gas, according to Rystad Energy.
Lithuania earlier this month ended imports of Russian gas, switching to imports of liquefied natural gas from other countries. Russia accounted for 26 percent of Lithuania's gas needs last year, according to Bloomberg.
Skaiste said Lithuania would soon end imports of Russian oil.
She said Lithuania's economy had taken a hit from the sanctions imposed on Russia, but the pain is worth the price of Ukraine's freedom.
"We feel in Lithuania the support of the society for these decisions because of our historical perspective," she said, a reference to Lithuania's previous control by Moscow, including during the Soviet period. "We do understand how the Ukrainians feel today."
Lithuania imports wood, fertilizer, and some metals from Russia and local companies will now have to find new suppliers, she said.
Skaiste said Lithuania had been shifting its trade ties away from Russia since the 1990s, with the first large wave following Russia's default in 1998 and the second wave after its annexation of Crimea in 2014.
"I think this [war] is the last point -- when the rest of the businesses which have very close and intense relations with Russia will turn [away]," she said.