Ukrainian towns devastated by Russian bombardment seek international help to rebuild

BORODYANKA, Ukraine: In the embattled town of Borodyanka, northwest of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, a gaping hole splits down the middle of a residential building, with rubble piled high around the damage and scotch marks on its façade.

It is where Borodyanka resident Hanna Tymoschenko once lived, before her home was razed to the ground by a Russian aerial strike on Mar 1.

“We were with our parents. At that time, we were in the cellar, because of all the explosions. They were very, very audible, and this roar, and these sounds,” said Ms Tymoschenko, as she recounted that fateful day to CNA.

“We were sitting in the cellar and we could hear the front door being thrown back due to a shockwave,” she said, adding that she counted both herself and her husband lucky that they were not in the apartment during the shelling.

Russian troops withdrew from the Kyiv region around late March to early April, leaving behind a trail of death and destruction, in what Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described as “horrific”.

Borodyanka’s deputy mayor Konstantin Moroz said that the city is one of the most affected parts of the Kyiv region, with buildings, structures and communities destroyed.

When CNA visited the town on Sep 19, scenes of devastation were still evident. Parts of some residential apartments have completely collapsed while others have been blown wide open, displaying broken furniture inside.

Faded Ukrainian flags flutter outside several buildings blackened by flames, while windows in some others have been blown out by nearby explosions.

There was debris everywhere.

But there were also cranes and construction equipment – signs that Kyiv is starting to rebuild in and around the capital.

Across the country, thousands more homes and structures have been destroyed, and Ukraine’s government is looking to foreign partners to help pay for their reconstruction.

Ukraine is seeking US$55 billion in financial support next year to cover its budget needs and to rebuild key infrastructure including schools and housing.

The cost of reconstruction and recovery stemming from the war in Ukraine could total US$349 billion, according to a joint report released in September by the World Bank, the Ukrainian government and European Commission.

That figure is expected to grow as the war continues.

Germany is set to host an international conference on the rebuilding of Ukraine on Tuesday (Oct 25) in Berlin.

Representatives from the European Union and Group of Seven (G7) nations are expected to be in attendance to discuss financial assistance and reconstruction needs. 

The war-torn country’s economy is projected to shrink by almost half this year, and financing the war effort costs billions of dollars every month.

International financial aid will help to ease some of Ukraine’s rebuilding efforts for displaced residents like Ms Tymoschenko, who now lives in a container complex for those made homeless by the war.

She sleeps in a tiny room and shares amenities with her neighbours. Ms Tymoschenko said she hopes she would not have to wait too long for a new home and start a family.

“Of course, there are plans for the future. We would like to have a new apartment, to have our own little nest, a home, while planning a family,” she said.

“Yes, we need to plan and create a family with my husband. And it is necessary to revive Ukraine, to replenish it,” she said.