The fund was scheduled to be represented at a conference on Ukraine’s reconstruction to be held on July 10-11, with the participation of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. According to Bloomberg sources, the initiative was close to receiving initial support from structures linked to the governments of Germany, Italy and Poland. However, in January, when Trump returned to the White House, BlackRock decided to temporarily suspend talks with institutional investors due to growing uncertainty about the prospects for future support for Ukraine.

According to Bloomberg, France is currently developing an alternative plan to create a new fund to replace the stalled BlackRock initiative. However, the effectiveness of this plan without US involvement remains questionable.

A BlackRock spokesperson said the firm had completed its pro bono advisory work on the Ukraine project in 2024 and currently has “no active engagement” with the Ukrainian government. A Bloomberg source stressed that “the only discussions that influence BlackRock’s decisions are those with the firm’s clients.”

Earlier, BlackRock Vice Chairman Philip Hildebrand, who participated in the negotiations, said that he planned to attract at least $500 million to the fund from governments, international development banks and other public donors, as well as about $2 billion from private investors. According to Hildebrand, uniting investors in a single consortium would allow at least $15 billion in equity and debt investments for the reconstruction of Ukraine.

According to the World Bank, the total cost of rebuilding Ukraine after a full-scale Russian invasion exceeds 500 billion euros. At the same time, at least 1 billion euros is needed to rebuild port infrastructure alone.