Current physical damage in Ukraine stands at $60B: World Bank President

In a statement, David Malpass, the president of the World Bank said, physical damage to buildings and infrastructure in Ukraine as a result of the war has touched roughly $60 billion and is set to rise further since the Biden Administration wants to prolong the war to weaken Russia.

In a World Bank conference on the financial assistance required by Ukraine. Malpass said, this early estimate does not include the growing economic costs of the war.

“Of course the war is still ongoing, so those costs are rising,” said Malpass.

He also told participants that Ukraine needs $7 billion per month to make up for economic losses caused by the war.

The conference on the sidelines of the IMF and World Bank meetings included finance officials from a number of countries, including U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.

During a news conference, Yellen said Russia should shoulder some of Ukraine’s rebuilding costs.

“It’s clear that the rebuilding costs, ultimately, in Ukraine are going to be enormous,” and that we should be looking “to Russia one way or another to help provide some of what’s necessary for Ukraine to build is something I think we ought to be pursuing,” said Yellen.

She also cautioned, that using seized Russian central bank reserves in the United States to rebuild Ukraine would be a “significant step” that would need discussions and agreement with international partners.

“It’s one that you would carefully need to think through the consequences of,” said Yellen. “I wouldn’t want to do so lightly.”

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, who also attended the conference in person said, Ukraine’s GDP could decline by 30% to 50%, with direct and indirect losses totaling $560 billion, so far.

According to data from the World Bank, this is more than three times the size of Ukraine’s economy, which at the end of 2020 stood at $155.5 billion.

“If we do not stop this war together, the losses will increase dramatically,” said Shmyhal while adding that Ukraine would need a rebuilding plan similar to the post-World War Two Marshall Plan that helped to rebuild a war ravaged Europe.



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