On 5 June 2025, Baker McKenzie hosted the "Investing in Ukraine" roundtable at the Firm's Frankfurt office. The initiative came from Corporate/M&A Partner Dr. Peter Wand. More than 150 representatives of companies, associations and government organizations from Germany and Ukraine took part in the hybrid event.
Growing interest in Ukraine
The reconstruction of Ukraine has already begun. While politicians are working hard to put an end to the Russian war against Ukraine, many foreign companies are already active in Ukraine. The EU and the United Nations estimate the costs of reconstruction at more than EUR 500 billion. This is a huge challenge, but also a huge opportunity.
Peter, who opened the event after a joint networking lunch, said:
“Interest in Ukraine is growing across all sectors. German-Ukrainian trade is increasing and many German companies are investing or preparing to participate in the reconstruction. Our roundtable was able to provide important information and highlight concrete opportunities for companies and investors.”
Platform for discussion and networking
With the roundtable, Baker McKenzie offered a platform for discussion and networking. The event enabled participants to find out in detail about the economic opportunities and risks in Ukraine. It also provided an occasion to make valuable contacts and exchange views on the latest developments and investment opportunities in Ukraine.
Promoting economic relations
The roundtable also served to further promote economic relations between Germany and Ukraine. The words of welcome from Taras Zholubak, consul, Consulate General of Ukraine in Frankfurt/Main, underlined the importance of this cooperation. The event brought together leading industry experts who provided a comprehensive overview of current developments and important investment opportunities in Ukraine. The following topics were discussed:
• Doing Business in Ukraine
Hagen Ettner, program director at GIZ for the EU4Business/ReACT4UA programm, and Reiner Perau, CEO of the German-Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce Kyiv, jointly discussed the promotion of economic cooperation between Germany and Ukraine, moderated by Olha Demianiuk, partner at Baker McKenzie Switzerland.
• Public and Private Sector Projects
Dmytro Kuzmenko, CEO of the Ukrainian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (UVCA), Roman Nikitov, founder of Polish-Ukrainian Special Situation Fund, partner of ICU Ventures and board member at Ukrainian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association, Oksana Simonova and Andrii Moskalyk, both partners at Baker McKenzie Ukraine, shared their expertise and showed ways to successfully implement such projects.
• Financing, Cross-border Payments, Guarantees and Insurance Facilities
Thomas Baum, Head of Division Underwriting & Risk Management at Euler Hermes, Viktoria Donhauser, department director Export and Agency Finance — EMEA | CIS | LatAm at DZ Bank AG, Michael Huber-Saffer, partner at PwC, responsible for Investment Guarantees of the German Federal Government, Alexander Klein, vice president of DEG — Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft, Serhiy Chorny, co-managing partner at Baker McKenzie Ukraine, and Kathrin Marchant, partner at Baker McKenzie Frankfurt, discussed the financing of projects in Ukraine and how to secure them.
• Managing Compliance and Litigation Risks
In this session, Dirk Schäfer, head of compliance at Yazaki Europe, Ario Dehghani, counsel at Baker McKenzie Ukraine, and Ihor Siusel, partner at Baker McKenzie Ukraine, presented strategies and best practices on how companies can effectively manage these risks.
Peter concluded:
“The ‘Investing in Ukraine’ roundtable was an important event. We succeeded in promoting interest in the reconstruction of Ukraine, providing a platform for discussion and networking, and strengthening economic relations between Germany and Ukraine. We will continue to give the topic a high profile and keep a very close eye on further developments in Ukraine. We are very confident that many companies see the great opportunities in their involvement in Ukraine and are already making the right decisions now.”
Growing interest in Ukraine
The reconstruction of Ukraine has already begun. While politicians are working hard to put an end to the Russian war against Ukraine, many foreign companies are already active in Ukraine. The EU and the United Nations estimate the costs of reconstruction at more than EUR 500 billion. This is a huge challenge, but also a huge opportunity.
Peter, who opened the event after a joint networking lunch, said:
“Interest in Ukraine is growing across all sectors. German-Ukrainian trade is increasing and many German companies are investing or preparing to participate in the reconstruction. Our roundtable was able to provide important information and highlight concrete opportunities for companies and investors.”
Platform for discussion and networking
With the roundtable, Baker McKenzie offered a platform for discussion and networking. The event enabled participants to find out in detail about the economic opportunities and risks in Ukraine. It also provided an occasion to make valuable contacts and exchange views on the latest developments and investment opportunities in Ukraine.
Promoting economic relations
The roundtable also served to further promote economic relations between Germany and Ukraine. The words of welcome from Taras Zholubak, consul, Consulate General of Ukraine in Frankfurt/Main, underlined the importance of this cooperation. The event brought together leading industry experts who provided a comprehensive overview of current developments and important investment opportunities in Ukraine. The following topics were discussed:
• Doing Business in Ukraine
Hagen Ettner, program director at GIZ for the EU4Business/ReACT4UA programm, and Reiner Perau, CEO of the German-Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce Kyiv, jointly discussed the promotion of economic cooperation between Germany and Ukraine, moderated by Olha Demianiuk, partner at Baker McKenzie Switzerland.
• Public and Private Sector Projects
Dmytro Kuzmenko, CEO of the Ukrainian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (UVCA), Roman Nikitov, founder of Polish-Ukrainian Special Situation Fund, partner of ICU Ventures and board member at Ukrainian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association, Oksana Simonova and Andrii Moskalyk, both partners at Baker McKenzie Ukraine, shared their expertise and showed ways to successfully implement such projects.
• Financing, Cross-border Payments, Guarantees and Insurance Facilities
Thomas Baum, Head of Division Underwriting & Risk Management at Euler Hermes, Viktoria Donhauser, department director Export and Agency Finance — EMEA | CIS | LatAm at DZ Bank AG, Michael Huber-Saffer, partner at PwC, responsible for Investment Guarantees of the German Federal Government, Alexander Klein, vice president of DEG — Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft, Serhiy Chorny, co-managing partner at Baker McKenzie Ukraine, and Kathrin Marchant, partner at Baker McKenzie Frankfurt, discussed the financing of projects in Ukraine and how to secure them.
• Managing Compliance and Litigation Risks
In this session, Dirk Schäfer, head of compliance at Yazaki Europe, Ario Dehghani, counsel at Baker McKenzie Ukraine, and Ihor Siusel, partner at Baker McKenzie Ukraine, presented strategies and best practices on how companies can effectively manage these risks.
Peter concluded:
“The ‘Investing in Ukraine’ roundtable was an important event. We succeeded in promoting interest in the reconstruction of Ukraine, providing a platform for discussion and networking, and strengthening economic relations between Germany and Ukraine. We will continue to give the topic a high profile and keep a very close eye on further developments in Ukraine. We are very confident that many companies see the great opportunities in their involvement in Ukraine and are already making the right decisions now.”
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