Whoever had the opportunity to visit Irpin or Bucha or any other place of a massacre in Ukraine cries out immediately for peace. 24 February marks a dark day in our modern European history. One year ago, the Russian army launched a full-scale war against Ukraine, leading to high civilian casualties, broken families, enormous human suffering, and the destruction of physical infrastructure.
From the first day of this war, the EU has condemned Russia's unprecedented military aggression against Ukraine in the strongest possible terms. Since then, the EU has continuously reiterated that Russia is grossly violating international law and undermining European and global security and stability. From the beginning, the EU calls on Russia to immediately cease the hostilities, withdraw its military from Ukraine and fully respect Ukraine's territorial integrity, sovereignty, and independence.
At the same time, the EU continues to stand firmly and fully with Ukraine for as long as it takes. We have shown unprecedented unity and solidarity at the level of our citizens and governments. At the EU level, we have introduced massive sanctions, provided immediate support, and started the work of bringing those responsible for war crimes to justice. The visit of the College of Commissioners to Kyiv to meet members of Ukraine's government at the beginning of February was another strong signal of our everyday engagement and solidarity.
Since Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, €50 billion have been made available by the EU, Member States, and the European Financing Institutions to support Ukraine. Our support includes humanitarian, emergency, and financial but also military support through the European Peace Facility and EU Member States channels, something unimaginable before the war.
Our new €18 billion macro-financial assistance plus helps to provide monthly stable and predictable financial support to Ukraine's budget. We delivered the first two tranches in January 2023; the subsequent payments will follow as of March. We are also helping to ensure Ukraine's energy security, a key sector in the context of Putin's constant attacks targeting Ukrainian infrastructure.
When we include the available resources for hosting refugees, our support to Ukraine, and the people who fled their country and now finding refuge in the EU, totals around €67 billion. Like in Portugal, citizens, and governments of all the Member States alike show their unequivocal solidarity as they bear the personal costs of the thousands of Ukrainians who ran away and left everything behind.
Looking ahead, the EU has made a clear and strong commitment to play a significant role in Ukraine's reconstruction. This pledge means that the EU is ready to help Ukraine to rebuild its country in line with EU standards and core values based on the European Green Deal and the digital transformation agenda. It also means that we provide a €1 billion contribution to help the fast recovery embedded in the country's reconstruction efforts, focusing on repairing the damages done to the energy infrastructure, buildings, roads, overall infrastructure, schools, and hospitals. This recovery work also means that we will assist in a socially inclusive reconstruction to help Ukraine's society heal from the war's traumas.
To coordinate better our support for Ukraine's immediate financing needs and future economic recovery and reconstruction efforts, we have, together with Ukraine and with G7 partners, established the Ukraine Multi-agency Donor Coordination Platform which started to work.
Ukraine's recovery and reconstruction are closely linked with Ukraine's EU accession track. The EU candidate country status has created a positive reform momentum. Ukraine has made significant efforts to implement the seven steps outlined in the Commission's Opinion on Ukraine's EU membership application. However, work remains to be done, particularly in the areas of anti-corruption and justice reform, as well as anti-money laundering, media, and the protection of national minorities. I am confident that Ukraine will engage in all the gaps identified. They can surely count on the full support of the European Commission. Also, it is important to underline that the length of the process leading to the next steps in the accession process will be determined not by the speed but by the quality of reforms; thus, a solid track record of implementing these reforms will be necessary to present also for the benefit of the Ukrainian people and the society.
Since the first shot was fired, the EU engaged actively with Ukraine to shape the process leading to peace based on President Zelenskyy's Peace Plan. We will continue working with Ukraine to ensure the broadest possible global support. Our objective is the establishment of sustainable peace in Ukraine in line with the UN Charter, which enshrines the territorial integrity and sovereignty of its Member States. Russia must respect international law. It immediately must stop all aggression and return to its borders. This is where peace begins.
