Ukraine lost hundreds of billions of dollars after nearly 2 months of conflict

Losses billions of dollars

According to the news agency TASS Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov said that the tactical-tactical aviation of the Russian Aerospace Forces launched an attack against 84 Ukrainian military targets, which destroyed a factory repairing the Tochka-U missile complex in the city of Dnipro, eastern Ukraine.

Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Russian forces had begun a military operation in the Donbas region, in the east of the country, and announced that Kiev would defend.

On February 24 this year, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a special military operation in Ukraine in response to a call for help from the leaders of the self-proclaimed territories in the Donbass.

Russia’s special operation has damaged 30% of Ukraine’s infrastructure, with losses of up to 100 billion USD, Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Oleksander Kubrakov said on April 18.

However, Ukraine has never specifically listed the impact of the current conflict on infrastructure such as roads and bridges, although many Ukrainian officials say the total damage to everything from the Transportation system to houses and other buildings is about 500 billion USD to date.

A government building is destroyed after an airstrike in the city of Mykolaiv, southern Ukraine, on March 28. Photo: AFP.

According to Kubrakov, the Russian special operation affected 20-30% of the entire infrastructure of the country in varying degrees of damage and destruction.

More than 300 bridges on national roads have been destroyed or damaged, more than 8,000km of roads need to be repaired or rebuilt, dozens of railway bridges have been destroyed, Mr. Kubrakov said. He estimates total infrastructure damage to date at up to $100 billion.

Establish a humanitarian corridor

In related developments, according to ReutersOn April 18, Ukraine called on Russia to create conditions for opening a humanitarian corridor to evacuate people from the port city of Mariupol.

Humanitarian corridors are established in a specific area and for a specific period of time with the agreement of the warring parties. This corridor was created when both sides to the conflict agreed to a short ceasefire. Through humanitarian corridors, aid organizations can deliver food, food and medical aid to conflict zones, or evacuate people to safety.

Ukrainian authorities said an urgent humanitarian corridor was needed to evacuate women, children and other civilians.

The situation in the port city of Mariupol is currently very difficult. On Sunday, Ukraine rejected Russia’s ultimatum to surrender at the port of Mariupol, where Moscow said Russian forces were almost completely under control after nearly two months of fighting.

According to VNA, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) announced that more than 4.8 million Ukrainians have been displaced from the country since the conflict broke out in late February. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) Nearly 215,000 foreign nationals living, studying and working in Ukraine have been evacuated from the country. The total number of people who have left Ukraine is now more than 5 million people since the conflict broke out. In addition, the IOM estimates that another 7.1 million people have also been displaced within Ukraine.

The United Nations calls for a meeting between the two countries

Also in an effort to reduce civilian casualties, UN Deputy Secretary-General Griffiths said he had called on Russia and Ukraine to agree to arrange a meeting between the two countries’ officials, a meeting convened by the United Nations. to discuss humanitarian issues.

Mr. Griffiths made this appeal during recent visits to both countries embroiled in the conflict.

Speaking to the press on April 18 about the visit, Deputy Secretary General Griffiths said he had called on the two sides Russia and Ukraine to agree to arrange a meeting between the two countries’ officials, a meeting organized by the United Nations. convene (either online or in person) at any time, to discuss humanitarian issues.

Deputy Secretary General Griffiths said he expected to return to Russia again to discuss the situation in Ukraine after a trip to Turkey this week. In Turkey, Mr. Griffiths intends to push for the creation of a “humanitarian contact group” that includes both Russia and Ukraine.