U.S., World Bank launch insurance plan for Ukraine reconstruction fund

The U.S. International Development Finance Corporation and the World Bank Group’s MIGA signed a political risk insurance framework in Gdansk on Wednesday, adding a financial backstop to a U.S.-Ukraine reconstruction fund built to draw private money into a war zone.

The insurance is meant to do what aid alone cannot: make investors believe they will not lose everything if wartime uncertainty, government actions or wider geopolitical shocks hit a project. In practice, political risk cover is designed to cushion the kinds of losses that keep lenders and equity backers away from fragile markets, especially where infrastructure can be damaged, contracts can be disrupted and the rules of the game can change overnight.

The fund was set up under a U.S.-Ukraine minerals agreement signed on April 30, 2025, and was formally launched in May after Ukraine’s parliament ratified the intergovernmental deal. The DFC put in a $75 million equity commitment, matched by the Ukrainian government for an initial $150 million capital base.

The fund will prioritize critical minerals, energy, transport and logistics, information and communications technology, and emerging technology. Those sectors are central to keeping Ukraine’s supply chains working, restoring industrial output and protecting economic security while the full-scale invasion continues. The framework is meant to attract private and public investment into extractive, infrastructure and innovative projects, not just to replace damaged assets but to rebuild the economy around them.

Conor Coleman, the DFC chief of staff, said the insurance arrangement would help mobilize additional private investment vehicles and joint projects, while MIGA finance chief Ed Mountfield said investment guarantees are needed to crowd in private capital and strengthen Ukraine’s business environment. The deal was signed by Coleman and Mountfield and witnessed by Ukraine Economy Minister Oleksiy Sobolev, World Bank President Ajay Banga and U.S. Treasury Undersecretary Jonathan Greenstein.

In February 2026, the World Bank, European Commission, United Nations and Ukrainian government estimated Ukraine’s recovery and reconstruction needs at almost $588 billion over the next decade. Approval of a second project under the fund is expected in the coming weeks.