The World Bank revises the amount needed to restore Ukraine

The new cost of rebuilding Ukraine is 8% higher than the last report a year ago.

 

This is evidenced by the data of the World Bank, the UN, the European Commission and the Government of Ukraine, published in the report on the assessment of damage and needs (RDNA4) resulting from the large-scale russian invasion.

 

The report estimates that as of December 31, 2024, the total cost of reconstruction and recovery in Ukraine over the next decade will be $524 billion, which is approximately 2.8 times Ukraine's nominal GDP for 2024.

 

This figure is 8%, or about $37 billion, higher than the previous estimate of $486 billion, reflecting the scale of the ongoing and growing destruction.

 

According to the RDNA4, which covers losses incurred over a period of almost three years - from February 24, 2022 to December 31, 2024 - direct losses in Ukraine have increased to $176 billion, up from $152 billion in the RDNA3 in February 2024.

 

Among the main sectors affected:

 

housing (over 2.5 million households)

transportation

energy,

trade,

industry,

and education.

 

The energy sector saw a 93% increase in damaged or destroyed facilities, particularly in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity.

 

According to current estimates, 13% of Ukraine's total housing stock was damaged or destroyed. In the energy sector, the number of damaged or destroyed facilities has increased significantly, including generation, transmission, distribution infrastructure, and district heating facilities.

 

Across all sectors, Donetsk, Kharkiv, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, and Kyiv oblasts suffered the most damage, accounting for about 72% of the total losses.

 

“The assessment emphasizes the extraordinary damage that russia has done to Ukraine. The EU is already supporting Ukraine's reconstruction and recovery by mobilizing more private investment through the Ukraine Investment Framework and helping the country integrate deeper into the EU Single Market. This will be key to Ukraine's recovery and will create new opportunities for Ukrainian and European businesses,” said Martha Kos, EU Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement.

 

In 2025, with the support of donors, the Government of Ukraine has allocated USD 7.37 billion to address priority areas such as housing, education, healthcare, social protection, energy, transport, water supply, demining and civil protection.

 

The total financing gap for recovery and reconstruction needs in 2025 is estimated at USD 9.96 billion. Private sector mobilization remains critical to Ukraine's successful recovery.

 

Of the total long-term reconstruction and recovery needs, the largest needs are in the following sectors:

 

housing sector (almost USD 84 billion)

transportation sector (almost USD 78 billion),

energy and mining (almost 68 billion dollars),

trade and industry (over 64 billion dollars),

agriculture (over $55 billion).

 

The World Bank noted that the cost of clearing and disposing of debris in all sectors alone amounts to almost $13 billion.

 

Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal noted that the government has already defined the basic principles of reconstruction. These include the principle of build back better, safety, energy efficiency, barrier-free and inclusiveness.

 

“But the main principle is that the reconstruction should start now. The report already identifies 348 priority projects totaling $17 billion. Of these, we already have partial or full funding of $7 billion for 127 projects,” Shmyhal said.

 

Source: World Bank