The damaged Kerch Strait Bridge, as seen by Maxar Technologies, is now a ferry crossing from the Ukrainian peninsula to the occupied Crimea peninsula

President Zelensky told the international community how much money his country needed to rebuild in order to stay afloat. The board of governors of the International Monetary Fund was given that figure by him. Mr. Zelensky said that $17 billion would be needed to rebuild schools, hospitals, transport systems and housing, with $2 billion going toward expanding exports to Europe and restoring Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.

After the bombardment of Ukraine began on Monday, Mr. Putin said he had ordered it in retaliation for a truck-bombing that badly damaged the vital Kerch Strait Bridge connecting Russia to the occupied Crimea Peninsula. Moscow has tried to minimize the impact of the attack, but new satellite imagery suggests that it has, in fact, been substantial.

The images captured hundreds of trucks waiting to cross from the peninsula into Russia by ferry, five days after the bombing. The images, captured on Wednesday by Maxar Technologies, show a large back up at the port and a line of trucks near an airport that is apparently being used as a staging area.

The long lines for the ferry crossing had increased after the bridge explosion, because of the security checks that had been put in place, said Ignatov.

Sweden’s EU presidency: where are the Russian state assets, and how can they be used to rebuild Ukraine? An EU commission report on Russia’s economic situation

The Swedish government stated in a statement that the group would carry out an analysis of this possibility. Sweden currently holds the rotating presidency of the EU Council, which sets the bloc’s political priorities.

Obtaining a clearer picture of where Russian state-owned assets are located would be part of this work.

Diplomats from EU countries are meeting Wednesday to establish the remit for the group. They’ll give it the go-ahead to start when they make a decision. The group will be chaired by Anders Ahnlid, director-general of Sweden’s National Board of Trade.

A senior EU official estimated earlier this month that the European Union and Western allies had frozen more than $300 billion in Russian central bank assets that could potentially be used to rebuild Ukraine.

Von der Leyen told the European Parliament that Russia’s war machinery was being weakened. Nine packages of sanctions have been adopted. The Russian economy is shrinking. We need to keep up the pressure.”