Damage caused by Russian attacks on Ukraine's infrastructure reaches $140B

Russia's attack on Ukraine has caused $140 billion in direct damage to the humanitarian-social infrastructure, including tens of thousands of buildings, apartments, houses, about 8,000 km of roads, nearly 400 bridges, more than 500 schools, over 1,000 kindergartens, and hospitals, expert Oleksandr Bondarenko told Report.

Bondarenko said that besides the direct damages the Ukrainian economy suffered as a result of the war, it is also necessary to mention the indirect damages: "The indirect damages, i.e., a decrease in GDP, the closing of businesses, and intellectual capital loss, since millions of people moved to Europe, are estimated at more than $300 billion."

He noted that today it is possible to talk about damages of $500 billion in total: "According to other calculations of our government, this figure is even about 700 billion dollars. The question may arise here: Where will we find so many funds to restore and modernize the economy and infrastructure? Let's start with the fact that in Switzerland, other European countries, and the United States, Russia has frozen gold and currency reserves totaling $300 billion. Accordingly, Ukraine expects these funds to begin the rehabilitation of roads, infrastructure, bridges, energy, and buildings. The second source can be international financial aid and grants of approximately $100-150 billion. The third source is Ukraine's internal reserves, which will be formed from budget funds, tax revenues, and the issuance of Eurobonds."