Ukraine PM says rebuilding Donbas will cost UAH 8 bln

Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk told his weekly Cabinet meeting on July 9 that the government estimates the cost of restoring damaged property in the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts at UAH 8.1 bln. “Now we will think about where we can get funds. Probably, we will apply to donors,” Yatsenyuk said,as reported by the Ukrayinska Pravda news site.

Alexander Paraschiy: The Ukrainian government is faced with falling budget revenue (-7.2% yoy in June) while military spending is set to grow. The UAH 8.1 bln figure is provisional since the war has not ended yet but it’s positive that the government has started addressing the problem beforehand. We see a strong chance of getting grants from the EU and other Western donors, which will avoid adding pressure to ukraine’s budget. In particular, a week ago Iryna Gerashchenko reported that the EU is ready to provide EUR 1.5 bln to rebuild damaged infrastructure in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.