Jan 22 — Albania’s Prime Minister Edi Rama and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a 10-year security agreement in Switzerland during the Davos World Economic Forum on Jan 21. In the agreement, the Albanian side marks Kharkiv as the city of “special interest” and promises to prioritize supporting Kharkiv’s rebuilding. 

The agreement includes cooperation between two countries within defense, intelligence and security, military-industrial production, chemical, biological, and nuclear safety areas, etc. It also underlines Albania’s support in Ukraine’s reconstruction and the efforts to hold Russia accountable for violations of international laws and the return of Ukrainian children forcibly deported to Russia. 

Ukraine’s been signing 10-year bilateral security agreements with many allied countries, including all G7 member states and Belgium, Denmark, Latvia, Poland, and others. In those agreements, countries are committing to provide support for Ukraine defending itself from Russian military aggression, especially in case of repeat invasion. 

Kharkiv, which Albania singled out as their priority for reconstruction, is Ukraine’s second-largest city in the northeast of Ukraine, just 19 miles away from the Russian border. 

In 2024, Russia completely destroyed almost all of its energy infrastructure—and many civilian buildings, both residential and not. Last year alone, Moscow’s troops launched nearly 4,000 attacks at the city.  

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