The World Bank Group has completed a preliminary assessment of the physical damage to Ukraine’s buildings and infrastructure caused by Russia’s military aggression and estimated it at about $60 billion, Bank President David Malpass said.
“The World Bank Group has completed an early assessment of the physical damage. It puts the cost in terms of buildings and infrastructure, the narrow cost, at roughly $60 billion and does not include the growing economic costs to Ukraine’s economy. Of course, the war is still ongoing, so those costs are rising,” he said at the Ministerial Roundtable in support of Ukraine as part of the 2022 Spring Meetings of the World Bank and the IMF.
“Ukraine’s government and state-owned enterprises face a large non-military fiscal deficit and debt burden,” he added.
“We have now mobilized more than $3 billion for Ukraine to support the continuation of essential government services. This was made possible, and I want to thank the grant contributions through our Multi-Donor Trust Fund (MDTF) from the United States, the United Kingdom, Norway, Denmark, Austria, Latvia, Lithuania, Iceland; and guarantees from the United Kingdom, Netherlands, and Sweden; and parallel financing from Japan,” the banker said.
“The priority should be to fill Ukraine’s current financing needs in a way that minimizes its future debt burden. Grant contributions will be very important. Our MDTF is one mechanism that can be utilized. I also would like to acknowledge complementary approaches, including the IMF’s Administered Account, the European Union’s Solidarity Trust Fund, EBRD’s Resilience Package,” he added.
“As the war continues, we will work to build confidence in Ukraine’s financial, monetary, and fiscal institutions, fostering currency stability as we go forward,” he noted.
“In the six to eight months after peace, we believe the reconstruction of essential infrastructure connectivity—such as transport, power, heating, and digital—should be urgently addressed. And then, over the medium term, reinforcing the macro-fiscal capacity; rebuilding cities and households; and strengthening the agriculture and business sectors,” the official stated.