Recently, the Alliance participated in a conference hosted by the Institute for Analysis and Advocacy to discuss key aspects of rebuilding the country after the start of the full-scale invasion. Summing up the results of two years of full-scale war is an important step in a realistic assessment of the situation. The speeches were full of hope for the future, but also acknowledged the many challenges we face.
The speakers shared statistics and their own vision of the situation. The documented losses are estimated at $151 billion, and the need to restore the country reaches $411 billion. In 2022 and the first 9 months of 2023, Ukraine received $64.9 billion, which, given the pace, will take at least 12 more years to fully compensate. And that’s assuming the war ends immediately. Much of this money is in the form of loans.
An important step towards recovery is the payment of UAH 1.5 billion to 19,000 families affected by the destruction of their homes. This increase in social security helps Ukrainians to stay in Ukraine and work for its recovery in synergy. This is a strategically important people-centred step.
The government is actively working to create additional recovery positions in 8 ministries and 12 regions. This allows for more effective coordination of efforts across different sectors of the country. However, despite the work done, there are still problems with humanitarian demining, environmental restoration, protection of cultural heritage, the demographic crisis, devaluation and other aspects. There are still difficulties with creating a unified recovery plan, and there is no clear public agreement on the concepts of “victory” and “end of war”.
Hope for the future, despite the difficulties, remains the key to this process. However, this will not be possible without the coordination of efforts of both national and international organisations. In its turn, the Alliance for the Restoration of Ukraine is doing its best to attract international investors and experts to rebuild the country.
