The Prime Minister assessed the fact that more than 6 billion euros had been collected today as a great achievement. "Ukraine needs such assistance right away," the Prime Minister said, adding that he hoped Ukraine would receive the funds immediately. He assessed the donors’ conference as very successful, having not personally expected the amount raised to be so large.

When asked how much Slovenia has helped Ukraine in recent months, the Prime Minister said it was difficult to summarise all the aid. "In the first month of the attack, thousands of Slovenians gathered a variety of aid, including medicines, food and clothing, but the biggest problem was how to organise the logistics to transport everything to Ukraine. Slovenia provided Ukraine with all financial resources reserved for humanitarian aid. Help was provided through Slovenian companies, and the military. We have also helped morally and politically, drawing attention to Ukraine’s European perspective," the Prime Minister added. He assessed that the visit of three prime ministers to Kiev in March had been very important, "because when we got there, we were convinced that Ukraine would never be defeated. We have seen their spirit. I myself have experienced a war for independence, and such a spirit cannot be defeated, because it does not matter how big and strong the aggressor is. Above all, this visit paved the way for other European leaders." After the visit of the Czech, Polish and Slovenian prime ministers to Kiev, visits by other foreign leaders began to take place, from European Parliament President Roberta Metsola to the European Commission President, the European Council President and many European Council leaders. "We were the first delegation to go to Kyiv, where we were told that they felt very much alone, and that is what we changed with our visit," said Prime Minister Janez Janša.

The Prime Minister also said that more such conferences should be organised, stressing the importance of better coordination and organisation of financial assistance. "I think one centre should be created to lead all these efforts for financial assistance," said the Prime Minister, adding that aid to Ukraine is currently collected under the G7 and within the European Commission, financial institutions and banks. "Some commitments are being repeated, events are different and the efficiency is not great. Therefore, in addition to these formal meetings and conferences, discussions are currently underway on how to improve coordination. Typical tools provided for peacetime do not work, so we have to act adapted to the situation," said the Slovenian Prime Minister. "Coordination from one centre is needed, especially when it comes to financial aid. The European Commission, the IMF and other financial institutions should agree on one office to coordinate financial assistance," he added.

In the interview, Prime Minister Janša also said that he supported the idea of investing the frozen funds of Russian oligarchs in the reconstruction of Ukraine after the war. "It is obvious who the aggressor is and this money should be used to help rebuild Ukraine," he said, adding that a legal framework within the EU should be put in place to make this idea a reality.

The Prime Minister also said that a combination of two things was important for ending the war: the courage of the Ukrainians and the amount of our aid, especially military aid. "Of course Ukraine needs humanitarian aid, refugee aid, finance, technical assistance, and political and moral support, but the war will be made shorter by the modern weapons that Ukraine needs. Ukraine must balance its forces on the battlefield, because Russia still dominates in this area, and our help in this regard will determine how close we may be to the end of the war," said Prime Minister Janša.

In connection with the reconstruction of Ukraine after the war, the Prime Minister stressed that Ukraine needs direct assistance. He also welcomed the formula suggested by Ukraine’s Prime Minister and President that one country from Europe should help one region in Ukraine. "It’s a good formula. Since this would include no intermediary institutions, bureaucracy or coordination problems on the other side. With an approach like this, which should be systemic, Ukraine after the war could be rebuilt in a few years and not decades," concluded Prime Minister Janez Janša.