WASHINGTON: According to World Bank President David Malpass, physical damage to Ukraine's buildings and infrastructure caused by Russia's invasion has reached over US$60 billion and will continue to climb as the battle continues (Apr 21).

        The early assessment of "limited" damage costs does not reflect the mounting economic consequences of the conflict to Ukraine, according to Malpass, who spoke at a World Bank meeting on Ukraine's financial aid requirements. "Of course, the conflict is still going on, so those expenses will continue to rise," Malpass explained.

        In a virtual presentation to the conference, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy revealed considerably greater expenditures and financial requirements. In his remarks, he stated that Ukraine requires US$7 billion per month to compensate for the economic damages caused by Russia's invasion of his nation. 

        "And we'll need hundreds of billions of dollars afterwards to reconstruct everything," Zelenskyy added. He stated that the world community must quickly exclude Russia from international financial organizations such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, among others, and that all nations "must be ready to break off all connections with Russia."

        Finance officials from a number of nations attended the conference held on the margins of the IMF and World Bank spring meetings, including US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who previously announced that the US will quadruple its direct non-military aid promise to $1 billion.

        Nations who have implemented sanctions and asset restrictions on Russian assets, Zelenskyy added, should use the money to help reconstruct Ukraine after the war and compensate other countries for damages. ASSETS That Have Already been FROZEN

        Yellen remarked during a press conference that Russia should help pay for part of Ukraine's reconstruction expenditures. "It's apparent that the costs of reconstructing Ukraine will be substantial in the end," Yellen remarked.

        "Looking to Russia in some way or another to assist give part of what Ukraine needs to create is something I believe we should be doing," he says. She did warn, though, that utilizing stolen Russian central bank funds in the US to reconstruct Ukraine would be a "major move" that would need consultation and agreement with international partners.

        "It's one where you'd have to think through the repercussions very carefully," Yellen added. "This isn't something I'd take lightly." Ukraine's Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, who spoke at the conference in person, predicted a 30% to 50% drop in GDP, with direct and indirect losses totaling $560 billion thus far. According to World Bank figures, that sum is more than three times the size of Ukraine's GDP, with a value of US$155.5 billion in 2020.

        "If we don't stop this conflict collectively, the losses will skyrocket," Shmyhal warned, adding that Ukraine will require a reconstruction plan comparable to the Marshall Plan, which helped rebuild a war-torn Europe after WWII.