A World Bank report released on Wednesday puts the cost of Ukraine’s recovery and reconstruction from the Russian invasion at US$411 billion over the next decade, the cost of cleaning up the rubble of war s amounting alone to 5 billion US dollars.
The report details some of Russia’s war toll in Ukraine: at least 9,655 civilians confirmed dead, including 461 children; nearly two million homes damaged; more than one in five public health facilities damaged; and 650 damaged or stolen ambulances.
In total, the World Bank has so far calculated US$135 billion in direct damage to buildings and infrastructure, not including broader economic damage.
The damage would be even worse without the strong defense mounted by Ukrainian forces, said Anna Bjerde, World Bank Vice President for Europe and Central Asia, at a press conference. She said the worst damage was limited to the frontline regions of Donetsk, Kharkiv, Luhansk and Kherson.
As it stands, according to the World Bank, the Russian invasion has wiped out 15 years of economic progress in Ukraine, reducing Ukraine’s gross domestic product by 29% and plunging 1.7 million Ukrainians into poverty. poverty.
This assessment was carried out by the Government of Ukraine, the World Bank Group, the European Commission and the United Nations. The findings are intended to guide planning for the funding and implementation of what is an ongoing recovery effort in Ukraine.
The report says it is essential that Ukraine’s government, private businesses and recovery efforts continue even as bombs fall and fighting persists. Postponement of reconstruction and support “risks leading to a situation of little or no growth and enormous social challenges once the war is over,” the report says.
Ukraine’s energy sector has seen the largest increase in damage recently, following Russia’s targeted strikes on the power grid and other energy hubs over the winter. The total damage to the energy sector is now five times greater than it was last summer, the World Bank said.
In the longer term, officials have estimated a multi-billion dollar cost to Ukraine’s economy just from the many ways the war has disrupted education. This includes the more than two million children who are believed to have fled the country.