Russia’s bombardment of Ukrainian cities has caused at least $10 billion in damage to the country’s infrastructure thus far, a Ukrainian official said on Monday.
Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov told a local television station that the damage assessment stood as of Sunday, but he was confident Ukraine would prevail against Russia and that the damage done to the nation’s roads, bridges, railways, and airports could be repaired within two years.
“The majority of structures will be repaired in a year, and the most difficult ones — in two years,” Kubrakov said. “We will definitely win, and we will rebuild everything.”
Before and after Russian “special military operation” in #Ukraine pic.twitter.com/xhFcyipVdG
— inna shevchenko (@femeninna) March 6, 2022
Russian bombs, missiles, and mortars have devastated major urban areas of Ukraine. Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kherson, now reportedly under Russian control, Kyiv, the capital city and most populous, Mariupol, between the Donbas region and the Crimean Peninsula, and Mykolaiv, Ukraine’s third-most populous city, have suffered the most damage.
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Kharkiv, Ukraine, before and after the Russians arrived to “liberate” it. pic.twitter.com/UHJ6AywvMU
— Michael Deibert (@michaelcdeibert) March 2, 2022
The damage cost estimate of $10 billion is the same amount that the White House requested from Congress last week for aid for Ukraine. Ostensibly, the money would be used for defensive equipment for Ukraine, humanitarian assistance, sanctions enforcement, and support for U.S. troop deployments in Europe, but Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young also noted that the funds would be used to “strengthen the stability of Ukraine’s electrical grid by integrating it with the European Network of Transmission System Operators.”
On Monday, the World Bank approved $723 million in emergency loans and grants for Ukraine and promised that a $3 billion package was also in the works.
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While many of the world’s financial powers are rushing to help Ukraine economically, the country’s infrastructure chief said it would be Ukrainians who rebuild Ukraine.
“Of course, this is not a tragedy of ours, this war is not ours. Ukraine is defending the interests of the entire civilized world. We will also rebuild this country on our own,” Kubrakov said.
