The total cost of reconstruction and recovery in Ukraine is estimated at USD 524 billion over the next decade. The priorities remain housing, energy and critical infrastructure. This was announced by Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal during the presentation of the World Bank’s report on the assessment of damage and needs (RDNA4) resulting from the large-scale russian invasion.

“The new data exceeds the previous estimate by USD 38 billion. Such huge figures mean that the recovery should become a global project,” the Head of Government noted.

According to him, the basic principles of reconstruction have already been established: build back better, safety, energy efficiency, accessibility and inclusiveness.

“But the main principle is that the reconstruction must take place now. It affects the quality of life of millions of people, the prospects for the return of Ukrainians from abroad, and the creation of growth points that will move our economy forward,” said Denys Shmyhal.

He also noted that the report had already identified 348 priority projects totalling USD 17 billion, of which 127 projects had already been partially or fully funded for USD 7 billion.

Overall, RDNA4 estimates that 13% of Ukraine’s housing stock has been damaged or destroyed.

“Housing is one of the most important areas of reconstruction for our Government. Our second priority is the energy sector. Over the year, the number of damaged or destroyed assets increased by 93%. These are enormous losses that we are replacing in real time,” the Prime Minister said, adding that the third priority was critical infrastructure. In particular, last year 155 schools and 124 medical facilities were restored, and 640 infrastructure projects were implemented.

At the same time, Denys Shmyhal is convinced that the aggressor’s funds should work for Ukraine.

“We insist on the complete confiscation of russian immobilised assets. At the same time, we see that the needs for reconstruction already exceed the amount of frozen assets of the russian federation. I have proposed to our partner countries to introduce special taxes on russian energy and russian raw materials after the war,” the Prime Minister said.

According to him, such an initiative will help achieve several important goals. Firstly, it will make the aggressor pay for the destruction. Secondly, Ukraine will receive a significant resource for reconstruction. It will also set a precedent that will protect potential victims of aggression in the future.

“I am grateful to all the partners who are already helping us with the reconstruction,” said Denys Shmyhal, calling on both countries and private businesses to become more actively involved in the reconstruction of Ukraine.