WASHINGTON: Ukraine’s reconstruction and recovery needs have grown to $411 billion, just over a year since Russia’s invasion, the World Bank said on Wednesday.
The assessment, jointly made by Ukraine’s government, the World Bank, the United Nations, and the European Commission, is an increase from the earlier $349 billion estimated in a report issued in September last year.
The latest assessment expects Kyiv to require $14 billion for critical and priority reconstruction and recovery investments in 2023.
According to the assessment, meeting these needs will call for $11 billion in financing beyond what Ukraine’s government has already addressed in its 2023 budget.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 has displaced millions of people, and global food and energy prices surged in the fallout from the war.
“Energy infrastructure, housing, economy, critical infrastructure, and humanitarian demining are our five top priorities for this year,” Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmygal said in a statement. Denys Shmygal added that part of the reconstruction work has already been done.
But the prime minister warned that “the amount of damage and recovery needs currently does not include data on the loss of infrastructure, housing and businesses in the occupied territories.”
World Bank says Ukraine’s reconstruction to take several years
He said that authorities would start restoration work in these territories when the defense forces release them. However, the $411 billion needed is 2.6 times Ukraine’s estimated gross domestic product (GDP) for 2022.
The World Bank’s vice president for Central Asia and Europe, Anna Bjerde, said Ukraine’s reconstruction would take several years.
The report released Wednesday stated that estimates “should be considered as minimums and needs will continue to increase as long as the war continues.”
However, the damage has not surged as much as it could have, partly because the worst of the conflict has been limited to areas already significantly damaged.
