As the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine approaches, the Government of Ukraine, the World Bank Group, the European Commission and the United Nations on Thursday released an updated joint Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment (RDNA3).
It has been estimated that as of December 31, the total cost of reconstruction and recovery in Ukraine is $486 billion over the next decade, up from $411 billion estimated one year ago.
Ukrainian authorities estimate that in 2024 alone, the country will need around $15 billion for immediate reconstruction and recovery priorities at both the national and community level. The main focus will be on supporting and mobilizing the private sector alongside restoration of housing, soft infrastructure and services, energy, and transport.
The RDNA3 highlights that while some $5.5 billion of this funding has been secured from both Ukraine’s international partners and its own resources, about $9.5 billion is currently unfunded.
“Despite the ongoing full-scale war, the Ukrainian government, with the support of international partners, continues to implement a rapid recovery program. The execution of the Third Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment (RDNA3) allows us to approach this process more systematically. We are grateful to the World Bank and other partners for this work,” said Ukraine’s Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal. “We see that the needs for reconstruction have continued to grow over the past year. The main resource for Ukraine’s recovery should be the confiscation of Russian assets frozen in the West. We need to start this process already this year. Concurrently, the Ukrainian government is creating conditions to attract private investments, which will accelerate the reconstruction process and transform our country on its path to the EU.”
European Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi said that as the war continues to have far-reaching consequences on Ukraine, the EU will continue to play a key role in addressing the short and medium-term challenges identified in the RDNA3 report.
The RDNA3, which covers damages incurred over a nearly two-year period from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, to December 31, 2023, finds that direct damage in Ukraine has now reached almost $152 billion. Housing, transport, commerce and industry, energy, and agriculture are the most affected sectors. Damage is concentrated in the Donetska, Kharkivska, Luhanska, Zaporizka, Khersonska, and Kyivska oblasts.
Across the country, 10 percent of the housing stock has been damaged or destroyed, prolonging displacement of Ukrainians from their communities. The destruction of the Kakhovka Dam and the hydropower plant in June last year has resulted in significant negative impacts on the environment and agriculture, the report says.
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