The government of Ukraine is preparing to participate in the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos in January, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced in an address to the nation on Wednesday.
Zelenskyy also revealed that he has been in talks with BlackRock Inc. CEO Larry Fink to coordinate investments in Ukraine’s postwar reconstruction efforts, The Hill reported. Both the WEF and BlackRock are major purveyors of environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) practices that have been described as “fascist.”
“Specialists of this company are already helping Ukraine to structure the fund for the reconstruction of our state,” Zelenskyy revealed. It wasn’t immediately clear whether he would attend the January 16-20 WEF in person or participate virtually.
Multiple Republican states, including Florida, Arizona, Missouri, and Louisiana, have withdrawn billions of dollars worth of assets that BlackRock managed because of the firm’s moves away from its fiduciary duty as an asset manager toward left-wing political activism.
Zelenskyy also noted in his address that he had recently spoken to Italy’s conservative prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, and requested her help in strengthening Ukraine’s air defenses, according to Bloomberg.
Russian forces continued offensive operations around Bakhmut and Avdiyivka in the eastern Donetsk region, while trying to improve their tactical position on the Lyman axis to the north, Ukraine’s general staff said on Facebook. According to the statement, Russian troops carried out a missile strike and launched 33 barrages with multiple-rocket systems over the past day, including targeting civilian facilities in the southern city of Kherson.
The general staff did not mention any Russian air strikes in its morning update for the second day in a row, suggesting a drop in Russian air force activity after this week’s drone attack on a base in southern Russia.
Russian airstrikes have taken a heavy toll on Ukraine’s infrastructure, with about 700 critical facilities—including gas pipelines, power substations, and bridges—reportedly damaged since the war started, according to Yevhen Yenin, a deputy interior minister.
In a television broadcast on Tuesday, Yenin said more than 35,000 facilities across the country have been destroyed thus far.