Ukraine’s war recovery needs $411B over next decade: World Bank
A Ukrainian police officer stands in front of a partially destroyed building after an airstrike in the town of Rzhyshchiv, in the Kyiv region, Ukraine, March 22, 2023. (AFP Photo)


The World Bank has hiked its estimate for the cost of Ukraine's recovery and reconstruction from Russia's war to a minimum of $411 billion in the next decade.

The assessment was carried out jointly by the World Bank Group, the Ukrainian government, the European Commission and the U.N., according to an Al-Jazeera report published Wednesday.

The recent figure was up from the $349 billion in the previous projection.

The damage to buildings and infrastructure has reached $135 billion from more than a year-long war.

According to the report, some 2 million homes and more than 20% of public health institutions were damaged, and at least 9,655 civilians were confirmed dead, including 461 children.

It also pointed out that Russia's war has reversed 15 years of economic progress in Ukraine, reducing its gross domestic product by 29% and pushing 1.7 million people into poverty.

Tens of thousands of Ukrainian civilians are feared to have been killed along with many more soldiers on both sides since Putin ordered the invasion a year ago, saying it was necessary to protect Russia's security.

Ukraine sees it as a brazen bid to subjugate an independent state. Its outnumbered and outgunned forces repelled Russia's attempt to seize the capital Kyiv early in the war and later recaptured swathes of occupied territory. But Moscow still occupies nearly a fifth of Ukraine, which it claims to have annexed.