BlackRock Shelves Ukraine Fund as U.S. Prioritizes Domestic Interests
Trump’s Victory Signals Retreat from Costly Foreign Commitments
BlackRock Inc. quietly suspended its multibillion-dollar Ukraine Development Fund in January 2025, as investor confidence faltered after Donald Trump’s election shifted U.S. focus to domestic priorities over Ukraine’s uncertain recovery.
The fund, planned for unveiling at the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Rome on July 10-11, 2025, had neared $500 million in pledges from German, Italian, and Polish government-backed groups, plus $2 billion from private investors, BlackRock Vice Chairman Philipp Hildebrand stated in 2024. This aimed to fund $15 billion in reconstruction, a mere fraction of Ukraine’s $500 billion-plus rebuilding cost, per World Bank estimates.
Trump campaigned on ending the Ukraine-Russia war through peace talks, vowing to curb wasteful foreign aid. His administration has since moved to halt U.S. military support, leaving the fund without American backing by December 2024.
BlackRock, after completing its pro-bono advisory role in 2024, noted, “The only conversations that drive our decision-making are those with our clients.”
France’s proposed replacement fund faces dim prospects without U.S. involvement.
Source: Bloomberg