Ukraine infrastructure damage tops 133 billion euros in 1 year of Russian war

By Rostyslav Averchuk

Lviv, Ukraine, Mar 27 (EFE).- The cost of infrastructure damage in Ukraine has reached an estimated 133 billion euros (roughly $143.5 billion) since Russia began its full-scale invasion, a report has found.

The damage is most acute in the regions of Kharkiv and Donetsk, according to the study by Damaged In Ua project, run by the KSE Institute in close cooperation with the government and volunteers from other think-tanks.

“The country’s housing stock has suffered almost 50 billion euros of damages so far. In total, more than 150,000 residential buildings were damaged or destroyed,” project co-leader Natalija Shapoval said.

This represents more than 8% of all housing stock in the country and means that homes of about 3.2 million people have been damaged. The extent of the damage is largely due to the active shelling of cities with rockets and artillery, a chief component of Russian military tactics.

The cost of the damage to the country’s infrastructure and businesses is estimated at 33.6 billion euros and 10.5 billion euros respectively, according to the project’s report on the first year of the Russian invasion.

Roads suffered some 24.8 billion euros in damage due to shelling and intensive movement of tanks and other heavy equipment. At least 19 military and civilian airfields have been attacked, as well as at least 126 railway stations.

At least 7.5 billion euros of damage has been dealt by direct strikes against energy infrastructure targets. All existing thermal and hydro power stations have been affected, while the damage to the country’s energy distribution system reached some 2.2 billion euros. More than 30 oil storages and oil processing facilities have also been targeted.

Ukrainians have lost 207,500 private cars, worth 1.73 billion euros, as well as the world’s largest airplane Mriya (“Dream”), worth 280 million euros, which was destroyed during Russia’s attempt to capture Hostomel Airport near Kyiv.

Geographically, three eastern regions – Donetsk, Kharkiv and Luhansk – have suffered most, with damages equal to 29.9 billion euros, 28.9 billion euros and 16.4 billion euros.

The authors of the report warn that losses are expected to increase for as long as the fighting continues and the accuracy of the assessment has been hampered by the lack of access to areas currently under occupation.

“All these numbers and data are needed for the recovery planning, for analyzing what aid would be needed from donors, as well as for the preparation of lawsuits (against Russia for the losses caused),” Max Nefyodov, co-leader of the project, said.

The sum required to restore the damaged property is likely going to be significantly larger than the estimate, which is in many cases based on the historical value of the lost assets.

According to the joint estimate by the Ukrainian government and the World Bank released last week, some 381.4 billion euros may be required for post-war reconstruction of the country. That figure is 2.6 times larger than the country’s GDP, which fell by 30.4% compared to 2021 due to the Russian invasion.EFE

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