Here’s how much it could cost to rebuild Ukraine — and who would pay for it

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has already destroyed billions of dollars’ worth of infrastructure, blocked exports from key Black Sea ports and displaced more than 12 million people.

The World Bank predicts the war will cause Ukraine’s economy to shrink by 45% this year. And as Russian forces now focus on the Donbass region, the war shows no signs of letting up.

But Ukrainian and Western leaders are already talking about what it would take to rebuild Ukraine, if and when the war ends.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy gave a rollcall of devastation in a videoconference in late April: 1,500 educational facilities destroyed or damaged, along with 350 medical facilities, 1,500 miles of roads and 300 bridges. In all, Zelenskyy estimated 32 million square meters of living space had been impacted so far.

“It’s not just statistics. This is Mariupol, this is Volnovakha, this is Okhtyrka, this is Chernihiv, this is Borodyanka — dozens and dozens of our cities, towns and villages,” Zelenskyy said.

It’s estimated the cost of rebuilding the country could amount to hundreds of billions of dollars.