Participants in a Rome conference on the economic recovery of Ukraine have pledged over 10 billion euros ($11.73 billion) to help the war-torn country, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Thursday.

Axar.az informs, citing Al Arabiya, “I think we should be proud of the result we have achieved together today - nations, international organizations, financial institutions, local authorities, the business sector, and civil society,” Meloni said in her opening speech at the conference.

“Together, at today’s conference, we have made commitments totaling over 10 billion euros,” she said.

Zelenskyy pushed Thursday for investments in defense to withstand increasing Russian attacks, which he said showed Russian leader Vladimir Putin sought to destroy “life itself” in Ukraine.

“We must stop Russian drones and missiles,” Zelenskyy said at the Cconference, adding: “I urge all our partners -- increase your investments. When Russia increases its attacks, we cannot have a shortage of funding.”