The cost of Putin's invasion: Ukraine will need £335 BILLION to rebuild ... trends now
Ukraine will need £335 billion to rebuild itself over the next decade after Russia's destruction, which has seen almost 10,000 civilians killed and two million homes damaged, the World Bank has revealed in a new report.
The cost of cleaning up the rubble alone has been estimated to be £4 billion, according to the report, which provides both sweeping and closely detailed looks at the toll inflicted on Ukraine by Vladimir Putin's 13-month-long illegal war.
The figures make for grim reading: At least 9,655 civilians confirmed dead, including 465 children; nearly two million homes damaged; more than one out of five public health institutions damaged; and 650 ambulances damaged or looted.
In all, the World Bank calculated 135 billion dollars (£110 billion) in direct damage to buildings and infrastructure so far, not counting broader economic damage.
The true number of Ukrainian civilians killed in the war is likely much higher than the official figure. With vast swathes of the country still occupied by Russian forces, investigators have been unable to gain access to count the full toll.
Ukraine will need £335 billion to rebuild itself over the next decade after Russia's destruction, which has seen almost 10,000 civilians killed and two million homes damaged, the World Bank has revealed in a new report. Pictured: Residents walk through a destroyed street in the town on Bucha in April 2022. The town was the site of heavy fighting and Russian war crimes
The damage would be even worse if not for the strong defence mounted by the Ukrainian forces, noted Anna Bjerde, the World Bank vice president for Europe and Central Asia. Ukraine has been robustly supported by western weapon supplies.
She said the worst damage has been confined to the frontline regions of Donetsk, Kharkiv, Luhansk and Kherson - the four regions Putin claimed to have annexed in September last year, despite not being in full control of any of them.
As it is, the World Bank said, Russia's invasion has undone 15 years of economic progress in Ukraine, cutting Ukraine's gross domestic product by 29p percent and pushing 1.7 million Ukrainians into poverty.
The assessment was carried out by the government of Ukraine, the World Bank Group, the European Commission and the United Nations.
The findings are meant to guide planning for financing and carrying out what is an ongoing recovery effort in Ukraine.
Ukraine's energy sector has seen the greatest surge in damage recently, as a result of Russia's targeted strikes on the electrical grid and other energy hubs during the winter - including Europe's largest nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhia.
Total damage to the energy sector is now five times greater than it was last summer, the World Bank said.
Pictured: An aerial view of the city of Mariupol, which was all but levelled to the ground by Russian shelling in the early stages of the war
