Hyundai and Ukrenergo sign memorandum of understanding.

Ukraine's state grid operator Ukrenergo and South Korea's Hyundai Engineering & Construction signed a memorandum on mutual understanding at the ReBuild Ukraine conference in Warsaw on Nov.

14, Ukrenergo announced. Hyundai Engineering & Construction, a company within the Hyundai Group, will cooperate on researching "the possibilities of developing the electricity transmission system in Ukraine," Ukrenergo said in a statement. The memorandum was signed by Volodymyr Kudrytskyi, the head of Ukrenergo, and Hyung-Hwan Park, Hyundai Engineering & Construction's regional director for Europe and North Africa, in the presence of Ukrainian Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko.

"We continue to work on attracting international investments in the process of rebuilding Ukraine's energy infrastructure," the state grid operator said. The operator "is ready to assist both Hyundai E&C and other companies in effective research into the investment attractiveness of projects in the energy sector." South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol pledged £2.3 billion in aid for Ukraine in September, in order to help the country rebuild itself and provide humanitarian support to those in need amid Russia's ongoing full-scale war.

South Korea will provide the first £300 million as humanitarian aid in 2024, and the rest will be given to Ukraine as long-term, low-interest loans through the country's aid fund, Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF), Seoul-based news agency Yonhap reported. In July, Yoon visited Kyiv for the first time to meet his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky, where he announced that Seoul will increase aid for Ukraine to £150 million. During the visit, Yoon said that Seoul would "expand the scale of (non-lethal military) supplies from last year, when we provided materials such as helmets and bullet-proof vests."

South Korea does not allow the direct export of arms to a country at war.

International Finance Corporation Europe Director 'optimistic' Ukraine can attract private investment to rebuild In order to rebuild the country following Russia's brutal invasion, Ukraine will have to attract billions to its private sector. The International Finance Corporation (IFC) -- the investment arm of the World Bank -- believes that if Ukraine manages to reform some of its key sectors and liberalize its...

News Editor

Elsa Court is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent.

She was previously an intern at the Kyiv Post and has a Master's in Conflict Studies and Human Rights from Utrecht University.

Before joining the Kyiv Independent, she worked at the Netherlands Red Cross programme to arrange hosts for Ukrainian refugees and as a freelance writer and editor.

Elsa is originally from the UK and is based in the Netherlands.