Total war-related damage to Ukraine's infrastructure reaches almost $155B - KSE

The amount of direct damage caused to Ukraine's infrastructure since the beginning of the full-scale war has increased to $155 billion, with the country's housing stock being the most affected.

That's according to the Kyiv School of Economics (KSE), Ukrinform reports.

"The total amount of direct documented damage inflicted upon Ukraine's infrastructure due to the full-scale invasion by Russia as of January 2024 stands at $155 billion (at replacement cost). This estimate also takes into account the damage due to the explosion of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Station (HPS) dam caused by the actions of the Russian Federation to Ukraine in June 2023," the report said.

The housing stock remains in first place in terms of damage. Due to hostilities and systemic shelling, the number of damaged and destroyed residential buildings is increasing every day. As of January 2024, there were almost 250,000 damaged and destroyed buildings, with 222,000 being private houses, over 27,000 apartment buildings, and 526 dormitories. Direct damage to these facilities is estimated to be worth $58.9 billion. The regions with the most destroyed residential buildings include the Donetsk, Kyiv, Luhansk, Kharkiv, Chernihiv, and Kherson regions.

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As of the beginning of 2024, the damage to infrastructure has reached $36.8 billion, and the direct damage to industry and businesses has already reached $13.1 billion. According to the latest data, 78 small, medium, and large private enterprises, as well as 348 state-owned enterprises, have been destroyed or damaged.

Due to hostilities, the direct damage from the destroyed infrastructure of the energy sector continues to grow, reaching up to $9 billion. In the agricultural sector, the damage amounted to $8.7 billion. Additionally, as of the beginning of this year, direct damage in the areas of housing and public utilities reached $4.5 billion, and healthcare has seen an increase of another $1.4 billion, bringing the total to $3.1 billion.

Photo: Zelenskiy/Official