Ukraine needs almost half a trillion dollars to cover the cost of rebuilding from the Russian invasion, the World Bank, the European Union (EU), the United Nations (UN) and the Ukrainian government have said, AFP reports.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmygal said the confiscated Russian assets should cover most of the bill
Kiev is trying to mobilize international resources to help it rebuild the country's cities, roads, bridges and energy facilities destroyed or damaged by Russia's two-year assault.
"The total cost of reconstruction and rehabilitation in Ukraine is $486 billion over the next decade, compared with $411 billion estimated a year ago," the European Commission said, summarising the new report.
The estimate was prepared jointly by the four organisations.
It states that in 2024 alone. Ukraine will need $15 billion for the most urgent reconstruction needs, such as house repairs and critical transport links.
Ukraine has called on the West to unblock some $300 billion in frozen Russian assets to fund massive repairs to its infrastructure.
"Reconstruction needs have continued to grow over the past year. The main resource for Ukraine's reconstruction should be the seizure of Russian assets frozen in the West," Shmygal said.
The report found that 10 percent of Ukraine's housing stock was damaged or destroyed during the two-year war. It also highlighted the extensive environmental and agricultural damage from the explosion at the Kakhovka dam last June.
The document states that the damage is "concentrated" in the four frontline regions - Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhya - but also around the capital Kiev and in the northeastern Kharkiv region. / BGNES
