The Ukraine Recovery Conference 2026 (URC-26) took place on 25–26 June 2026 in Gdańsk, Poland. It is the leading international platform dedicated to Ukraine's recovery, reconstruction, reform and modernisation, convening senior Ukrainian and Polish government representatives alongside international partners and private-sector actors.
For the 4th consecutive year ITU delegation participated in URC in the context of the ITU Regional Initiatives for Europe and ITU Council Resolution 1408 on assistance and support to Ukraine for rebuilding its telecommunication sector.
Within the conference in Gdansk, ITU in co-operation with the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine and Ministry of Digital Affairs of Poland co-organised the digital workshop on Ukraine's Digital Economy: Driving Recovery, Innovation, and Long-Term Growth, being part of the official programme of URC.
This special event brought together government, business, and international partners to showcase Ukraine's digital economy achievements, advance strategic commitments and cooperation, and shape the agenda for digital-led reconstruction.
The workshop was an important milestone of the conference as it facilitated moving Ukraine's digital recovery from principle to practice, aligning Ukraine's digital priorities with international support and anchoring connectivity and digital infrastructure.
By convening government reformers, GovTech builders, private-sector innovators, and infrastructure operators in a single room, it demonstrated that Ukraine's digital economy is not a post-war aspiration, however, an active engine of long-term growth.
ITU opened the workshop with a presentation of the Eight Impact Initiatives, a coordinated framework of priority projects jointly developed by ITU and the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine to Foster Digital Infrastructure Recovery and Development in Ukraine. Spanning connectivity, digital public infrastructure, and capacity development, the initiatives translate Ukraine's recovery needs into partnership-ready actions and serve as a call to mobilise international partner support around the specific priorities identified together with the Ministry.
The initiatives translate Ukraine's recovery priorities into partnership-ready actions and serve as a call to mobilise partner and donor community support around specific, jointly identified needs. With combined financing requirements of approximately USD 37–52 million, they are:
- Increasing Internet Access and Modernisation of Connectivity in Ukraine (USD 20 million);
- Grant Support Programme for Small and Medium Telecom Operators (USD 10 million).
- Support Programme for Small and Medium Telecom Operators (USD 5–20 million).
- Attracting Telecom R&D and Manufacturing Investment for Resilient Network Technologies (budget subject to feasibility assessment).
- Strengthening International Transit Connectivity and Tier-1 Operator Engagement (budget subject to feasibility assessment).
- Institutional Capacity Building of the Ministry of Digital Transformation (USD 1 million).
- International Communication and Strategic Narrative Programme for Ukraine's Telecom Sector Recovery and Resilience (USD 450,000).
- Reducing Radiophobia and Public Resistance to Mobile Network Infrastructure (USD 500,000).
The workshop unfolded across four thematic blocks. The opening statements featured ITU, Ministry of Economy, Ecology and Agriculture of Ukraine, Ministry for Digital Affairs, addressing how governments are redesigning the interaction between the state, businesses, and individuals.
A GovTech block explored deregulation and digital public-sector reform, and the scaling of platforms such as Obrii, with contributions from BRDO, Google Ukraine, PFRU/Chemonics UK, and the European Commission (DG Connect).
A private-sector block examined how digital opportunities translate into investment and measurable AI-driven productivity gains for SMEs, featuring founders and executives from FRACTAL, SoftServe, Euvic, Lewiatan, ElevenLabs, and Billenium.
A final block on the enabling layer of connectivity and digital infrastructure with Kyivstar, NETIA S.A., Cisco Ukraine, and ELPROMA Elektronika, addressed resilience, cybersecurity, and cross-border connectivity as prerequisites for integrating Ukraine into the European digital economy. The session closed with a concluding round on the single biggest barrier to scaling digital businesses in Ukraine, followed by Q&A and final remarks.
The session provided a platform for exchanging experience, showcasing progress achieved under Resolution 1408, and identifying concrete avenues for investment across these initiatives, guiding the engagement of international partners and the donor community.
The URC-26 format confirmed the value of multi-stakeholder policy dialogue, encouraging participants to treat the technical and governance dimensions of reconstruction as mutually reinforcing rather than separate concerns.
