Cost to Rebuild Kyiv Suburb of Hostomel Over $343m, New Study Finds

A comprehensive study released this week found that Russia’s occupation of northern Ukraine’s Hostomel left damages and loss of infrastructure that will cost $343 million to fix or rebuild.

The study, conducted by KSE Institute of RebuildUA, said that of the 11,800 buildings that stood in the city before the invasion, 4,500 of them had been destroyed.

The total square meters of residential housing affected amounts to nearly 965,000, including 310 townhouses, 11 apartment buildings, and 1,500 private homes.

The study, which did not consider the additional cost for fixing the Antonov Airport, which was also occupied, found that a fire station, two post offices, six schools, two healthcare facilities, three hotels,17 grocers, and three churches had also been adversely affected by the Russian aggressors.

Losses to the Ukrainian economy overall have been dramatic due to Russia’s war. It is estimated that the cost of rebuilding will be more than $100 billion, according to the study’s authors.

Studies in the past weeks have indicated that around 5.5 million Ukrainians remain outside of the country due to the war. A roughly equal number of citizens who left Ukraine after the outbreak of the war, have now returned to the country. Nonetheless, things have not become easier for many.

A UN study last week indicated that nearly a third of Ukrainians are struggling with hunger.

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Over 100K Ukrainians Return to Russian-Occupied Donbas as Economic Hardship Grows

IDPs who fled Russia’s invasion in 2022 are returning to their homes in the Donbas under Russian occupation because they cannot keep up with the cost of living in Ukrainian-controlled territory.

Additionally, it was estimated by the Ukrainian Ministry of Finance that getting Ukraine’s sky-high 35% unemployment rate back to its prewar levels will take years after the war’s conclusion. During 1933, when the United States experienced its highest unemployment ever, those without jobs peaked at 24.9%.

The Ukrainian national currency has gone from a rate of roughly 25 UAH to $1, to a current street rate of around 40 UAH. The high inflation has made surviving the war all the more difficult for those already suffering so much.