KIEV (dpa-AFX) – The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj relies on the support of the World Bank to rebuild the country destroyed by the Russian war. At a meeting with representatives of the World Bank, promising new programs were discussed, said Zelenskyj in his video message distributed every evening in Kiev on Friday. “Of course we have focused on reconstruction – and everything that needs to be done in the many Ukrainian towns and villages that have suffered from the occupier’s terrorist attacks,” he said.
“Houses, social infrastructure, the economic basis of life – all of this must be rebuilt,” said Zelenskyj. At the same time, he once again condemned the severe destruction caused by the Russian attacks. In the video, Zelenskyy also acknowledged the fight of the defenders of Ukraine for the country and praised the fact that many young people are pursuing an officer’s career.
The war in Ukraine caused damage of at least 135 billion US dollars (around 125 billion euros) in its first year alone. This emerges from a joint report by the Ukrainian government, the World Bank and the European Commission, which was published on Wednesday. The financial losses caused by the war during this period are given as 290 billion US dollars (around 269 billion euros). The cost of rebuilding and recovering from Russia-attacked Ukraine is estimated at at least $411 billion as of February 24, 2023./mau/DP/jha