KYIV, Ukraine, March 3, 2025 (ENS) – After three years of Russia’s unprovoked attacks on its neighbor, Ukraine, the estimated cost of Ukraine’s reconstruction and recovery over the next decade is US$524 billion (€506 billion) – a figure 2.8 times the total market value of all goods and services produced in Ukraine for the year 2024.
This US$524 billion figure is the outcome of an updated joint Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment (RDNA4) released this week by the Government of Ukraine, the World Bank Group, the European Commission, and the United Nations, covering the three years of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which began February 24, 2022.
In 2025, the Government of Ukraine, with support from donors, has allocated US$7.37 billion (€7.12 billion) to address priority areas such as housing, education, health, social protection, energy, transport, water supply, demining, and civil protection.
“Ukraine and its people continue to show incredible resilience in the face of severe damage, untold suffering, and personal loss,” Antonella Bassani, World Bank Vice President for Europe and Central Asia said as the RDNA4 report was released. “This updated assessment captures the progress Ukraine has made on both physical and economic recovery, progress in its program of ambitious reforms, and its significant reconstruction needs.”
Mobilizing the private sector remains critical to Ukraine’s successful recovery from this war as a total financing gap of $9.96 billion (€9.62 billion) for recovery and reconstruction remains for 2025.
“In the past year, Ukraine’s recovery needs have continued to grow due to Russia’s ongoing attacks,” Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal said. “The fourth phase of the Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment remains vital to our recovery strategy. We thank the World Bank, EU, and UN teams for supporting and working on this project. This year, the government continues the rapid recovery program, focusing mainly on repairing and developing energy infrastructure and rebuilding housing for Ukrainian families.”
The RDNA4, which covers damages incurred over almost three years – from February 24, 2022, to December 31, 2024, finds that direct damage in Ukraine has now reached US$176 billion (€170 billion), a big increase from US$152 billion (€138 billion) in the RDNA3 of February 2024.
Housing, transport, energy, commerce and industry, and education are the most affected sectors.
The current assessment finds that 13 percent of the total housing stock has been damaged or destroyed, affecting more than 2.5 million households across Ukraine.
In the energy sector, there has been a 70 percent increase in damaged or destroyed assets since the RDNA3, including power generation, transmission, distribution infrastructure, and district heating.
Across all sectors, the regions closest to the frontline – Donetska, Kharkivska, Luhanska, Zaporizka, Khersonska, as well as Kyivska – sustained about 72 percent of the total damage.
“The assessment highlights the extraordinary damage Russia has inflicted on Ukraine,” said EU Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos. “The EU is already supporting Ukraine’s reconstruction and recovery by mobilizing more private investments through the Ukraine Investment Framework, and by helping the country integrate deeper into the EU Single Market. This will be a pillar of Ukraine’s recovery and create new opportunities for both Ukrainian and European businesses.”
Reconstruction and recovery needs are the highest in the housing sector (almost US$84 billion (€81 billion) of the total long-term needs.
This is followed by the transport sector (almost US$78 billion (€75 billion), the energy and extractives sector (almost US$68 billion (€66 billion), commerce and industry sector (over US$64 billion (€62 billion), and agriculture (over US$55 billion (€53 billion)) sector.
Across all sectors, the cost of debris clearance and management alone reaches almost $13 billion (€12.6 billion).
The assessment identifies and excludes over US$13 billion (€12.6 billion) in needs across eight sectors that have already been met by Ukraine with the support of its partners and the private sector.
For example, according to government data, in 2024, at least US$1.2 billion (€1.1 billion) was disbursed from state budget and donor funds for housing sector recovery. Over 2,000 kilometers of emergency repairs were carried out on motorways, highways, and other national roads.
The private sector has met some of the critical needs. Many firms have started to invest in repairs and resilience, including through distributed energy solutions such as gas power plants, solar panels, and biogas. Based on earlier International Finance Corporation estimates in 2023, the private sector could potentially cover a third of total needs, providing an essential complement to public investment.
“The true cost of war is measured in human lives and livelihoods,” said Matthias Schmale, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Ukraine. “Beyond immediate aid, we must contribute to opening up opportunities at scale for the people of Ukraine to rebuild their lives with dignity. This means investing in dignified jobs, education, healthcare, and prioritizing the inclusion of vulnerable groups among women and girls, children, displaced people, Roma communities, war veterans and persons with disabilities.”
“The path forward requires strengthening partnerships, de-risking investments and a steadfast commitment from all of us not just help structures but support restoring the social fabric of war-impacted communities,” Schmale said.
The RDNA4 highlights that prioritizing investments in recovery and reconstruction will be critical for Ukraine’s EU Accession and long-term resilience. These efforts aim to rebuild the country’s infrastructure, revive its economy, and strengthen its institutional framework in alignment with EU standards.
Recovery provides an opportunity not just to address the destruction caused by the ongoing invasion but also to build back better by adopting innovative solutions and reforms that meet the expectations of EU membership. The RDNA4 findings complement the reform and investment agenda of the Ukraine Plan for the next three years.
Fight in Trump’s Oval Office Splits U.S. and Ukraine
On February 28, four days after the RDNA4A needs assessment was released, a meeting between President Donald Trump and President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office fell into a shouting match, with President Trump berating Ukraine’s leader and Vice President JD Vance questioning whether Zelensky had demonstrated enough gratitude for U.S. support.
But according to an analysis by UNITED24, a Ukrainian government-run platform that raises money for Ukraine in the Russo-Ukrainian War, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy has publicly expressed gratitude to the United States 94 times since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. This count is based on statements made through his official Telegram channel.
After the Oval Office meeting ended in a shouting match, Zelensky told Fox News he does not feel he should apologize to the U.S. president. But U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told CNN the Ukrainian leader should “apologize for turning this thing into the fiasco for him that it became.”
The world has divided over whether or not to help Ukraine.
Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese repeated his country’s support for Ukraine after the Oval Office clash. “We will continue to stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes,” Anthony Albanese said Saturday morning local time. He he told CNN TV that support for the embattled European nation was in Australia’s national interest.
“We stand unequivocally with Ukraine in their struggle, because we regard that as a struggle for the upholding of international law,” Albanese said. “This is the struggle of a democratic nation versus an authoritarian regime led by Vladimir Putin, who clearly has imperialistic designs, not just on Ukraine, but throughout that region.”
The prime minister said peace was possible if Russia ceased its attacks on the country. “I tell you how you get peace in Ukraine really quickly, which is Russia stopping its illegal and immoral invasion, and Russia stopping the attacks on civilians, on civil infrastructure, engaging in this act of aggression that they have engaged in now for three years,” he said.
European leaders gathered in London on March 2 to meet with President Zelensky.
At a press conference after the summit, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said, “we have to learn from the mistakes of the past” and can’t “accept a weak deal” that Russia can break. All European countries must contribute to making a strong deal and “step up their own share of the burden,” Starmer urged.
Starmer introduced a £2.2 billion loan – about US$2.7 billion – for Ukraine, backed by profits from Russian assets that his government announced on Saturday.
Zelensky also met with King Charles III on Sunday at Sandringham House, Buckingham Palace said.
Starmer outlined a plan to support Ukraine that includes continuing the flow of aid to Ukraine and keeping up economic pressure on Russia. He said any lasting peace agreement must ensure Ukraine’s sovereignty and security, and Ukraine must be at the negotiating table.
In the event of a deal, Starmer said Europe will continue to help Ukraine militarily to deter any future military action by Russia.
Starmer said the United Kingdom, Ukraine, France and some other nations would form a “coalition of the willing” and draw up a peace plan to take to Trump. He did not mention which other nations, but said more countries were willing to join.
European leaders agreed they must spend more on defense to show President Trump the continent can protect itself. Yet many EU nations are already struggling with stretched public finances. Recognizing this fact, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen suggested the bloc could ease its rules around debt.
To date, the United States has provided US$65.9 billion in military assistance since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, and approximately $69.2 billion in military assistance since Russia’s initial invasion of Ukraine in 2014.
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