Chart of the week: Ukraine's reconstruction needs rise 12% to $588 billion
Damage and recovery needs in Ukraine. (Nizar al-Rifai/The Kyiv Independent)
The total cost of reconstruction and recovery in Ukraine is $588 billion, the World Bank said in a new report published Feb. 23, as Russia's full-scale invasion enters its fifth year.
Housing, transport, and energy sectors are most affected, with the total needs amounting to almost three times Ukraine's entire gross domestic product — $210 billion in 2025, according to the International Monetary Fund.
The sum needed for reconstruction in those sectors covers damage caused in the 46 months from Moscow's invasion in February 2022 to December 2025.
Direct damage to infrastructure caused by Russian attacks across Ukraine now amounts to over $195 billion. Roughly a third of that is to housing, with 14% of Ukraine's entire housing stock either damaged or destroyed.
Damage to Ukraine's energy sector increased by 21% over 2025, as Moscow methodically attacked electricity and heating infrastructure during Ukraine's coldest winter in years. Damage to the country's energy sector now amounts to $24.8 billion.
While damage is spread across the country due to Russia's missile and long-range kamikaze drone attacks, front-line areas have borne roughly three-quarters of the total damage.
The report also accounts for losses — changes in economic activity due to the invasion, such as disrupted services, increased operating costs, and debris removal. Across 46 months, those came through at a colossal $667 billion.
In a separate report published to mark the anniversary of the full-scale invasion, the Initiative on Greenhouse Gas Accounting of War calculated that the CO2 emission resulting from Moscow's war totaled 311 million tonnes of carbon dioxide in the last four years — roughly equivalent to the annual emissions of France.
In 2025 alone, Ukraine experienced 1.39 million hectares of wildfires, says the report, far exceeding pre-war levels and driven by armed conflict and climate.
This is the fifth iteration of the World Bank report, which is produced in conjunction with the Ukrainian government, European Commission, and United Nations.
