World Bank Vice President for Europe and Central Asia Anna Bjerde told Austrian newspaper Die Press that the cost of rebuilding Ukraine’s infrastructure damaged or completely destroyed by Russia since Feb. 24 will cost from 500 to 600 billion euros ($527 billion to $632 billion).
“The humanitarian consequences of this war are catastrophic,” Bjerde said. “Without infrastructure, there is no economy, no tax revenue for the Ukrainian state.”
The World Bank’s estimate of the cost of Ukraine’s post-war recovery has increased by over 200 billion euros since June when the forecast was set at 350 billion euros.
Bjerde also said the World Bank has downgraded Ukraine’s GDP decrease from 35% to around 40%, given that Russia has actively targeted Ukraine’s energy infrastructure in the fall.
“It’s a very worrying situation,” Bjerde said.
