$411B to Rebuild Ukraine

A joint assessment released by the Government of Ukraine, the World Bank Group, the European Commission, and the United Nations, estimates that the cost of reconstruction and recovery in Ukraine has already grown to $411 billion. This 'Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment' (RDNA2) covers damages and losses for the 12 months following Russia's invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, with the reconstruction needs covering the period 2023 to 2033.

As described in a World Bank press release, "the RDNA2 provides a comprehensive evaluation of war impacts across twenty different sectors. It quantifies the direct physical damage to infrastructure and buildings and describes the impact on people’s lives and livelihoods." As this infographic illustrates, the areas with the largest financial recovery needs are transport ($92 billion), Housing ($69 billion) and energy & extractives ($47 billion).

Also notable is the almost $40 billion required for 'explosive hazard management'. As well as the countless so-called 'explosive remnants of war' (unexploded artillery shells, grenades, mortars, rockets, air-dropped bombs, and cluster munitions), landmines have been used extensively by both sides in the war. A report published in January by Human Rights Watch (HRW) found that Ukrainian forces appeared to have scattered landmines in eastern Ukraine last year. HRW also previously published three reports documenting Russian forces’ use of antipersonnel landmines in Ukraine in 2022.

Commenting on the recovery needs report, Denise Brown, United Nations Resident Coordinator in Ukraine said: “Behind every home or hospital, or school destroyed, a Ukrainian life is affected. Loss of a life, lack of access to proper health care for pregnant women and the elderly or a child who is not able to go to school. While the psychological trauma is incalculable, the RDNA2 is just the beginning of the estimation of loss. But some things can't be rebuilt.”