Ukraine: A nation at war, yet firmly on the path to EU membership (part 2)

Europe Now brings you a special programme from Kyiv to mark the second anniversary of full-scale war in Ukraine. The fighting has killed and injured hundreds of thousands of people and left around a fifth of Ukrainian territory under Russian control, but this has not deterred Kyiv from seeking full membership of the European Union. In this second part of the show, we focus on the reconstruction of the country.

In December, Ukraine received a crucial signal from the EU, when the 27 member states agreed to start accession talks with Kyiv. And in February, a compromise was reached with Hungary to unblock a €50 billion financial support package for Ukraine. Throughout the war, and even before, the EU has been a crucial partner, providing at least €85 billion in aid to Ukraine.

In part two of this special programme, we travel to the northern suburbs of Kyiv that were hit especially hard in the first weeks of Russia's onslaught – Bucha, Hostomel and Irpin. We look at concrete examples of reconstruction and EU aid to small and medium-sized businesses, such as the Dim bakery in Bucha, which recently won a grant from the EU and is managed by refugees from eastern Ukraine. We discuss the importance of such projects with senior representatives from the EU delegation in Ukraine, Iryna Hubarets and Alberto Fernandez-Diez.

We also visit the town of Borodyanka, which was devastated in February-March 2022, with around 1,500 buildings damaged. In the new administrative services centre, financed by the UN and the EU, we meet Liudmyla Buimister, an independent MP in the Ukrainian parliament. We discuss rebuilding plans, EU-aligned reforms of local government and her hopes for Ukraine's anti-corruption efforts.

In our motion design segment, Sophie Samaille looks at the ripples of the Ukraine war in the EU, particularly the cost-of-living crisis, and how EU funds – including cohesion – are being used to counter inflation.

Our reporter Luke Brown examines how EU cohesion funding is supporting Ukrainians in Poland, and takes a look at how fears of "social dumping" – or cheaper Ukrainian labour costs – are being felt in the vital road haulage sector; fears which led to a months-long blockade of the two countries' road border.

Read moreUkraine: A nation at war, yet firmly on the path to EU membership (part 1)

Show presented by Armen Georgian, produced by Johan Bodin, filmed on location by Johan Bodin and Stéphane Bodenne, with Luke Brown. Editor-in-chief: Caroline de Camaret. 

Co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the DG Regional and Urban Policy. Neither the European Union nor the DG Regional and Urban Policy can be held responsible for them.