Ukraine begins eastern recovery, reconstruction
Citizens in the village of Chornuhine received postal deliveries last week for the first time in several months, and the Ukrainian government is promising more help for the village and hundreds of others in Donbas that have been cut off from civilisation due to conflicts with pro-Kremlin separatists.
The postal service, Ukrposhta, was able to deliver pensions in Chornuhine, where shelling has damaged roads and residents have endured a lack of water and natural gas. Meanwhile, the government is striving to restore eastern Ukraine’s infrastructure and help residents return to normal life.
“First of all, works to restore water and electricity supply are ongoing. We also need to restore the heat networks because cold weather is coming. These are priority needs. The question about housing reconstruction is more complicated,” Yuliya Krasilnikova, a volunteer with the NGO East SOS, told SETimes.
The government has assigned more than 50 million hryvnias from the reserve fund to restore the infrastructure destroyed during the conflict. About 10 million hryvnias were assigned separately for the reconstruction of destroyed houses in Sloviansk.
“This money will be directed to undertake necessary activities related to housing facilities that were destroyed or damaged during the anti-terrorist operation in Sloviansk, Donetsk region,” deputy prime minister Volodymyr Groysman told reporters in Kyiv.
Groysman said Ukraine needs about $1 billion to restore all damage caused during anti-terrorist operations, including damage to private property.
Experts say that in addition to needing significantly more money, many liberated towns and villages lack the proper management systems to guide restoration efforts.
“We have many towns without legitimate authorities,” Oleksandr Solontay, an analyst with the Kyiv-based Institute of Political Education, told SETimes. “It has disappeared in some places. For example, some heads of villages ran away because they represented the old regime. So it is impossible to calculate damages, but we can talk about very big money.”
Solontay added that it is impossible to start the recovery of the region in full force because clashes continue.
“We have the rear, and the front line,” he said. “Places near front line cannot be restored. If you see Volnovaha, Popasna, Schastya, Dyebaltseve of course there is nothing to do there, because of constant missile attacks.”
That opinion is shared by Ukravtodor, the state governing body responsible for the repair of roads and bridges. According to Ukravtodor officials, 31 bridges were destroyed and 950 kilometres of roads were damaged during military operations in the east.
“We will be able to begin rebuilding roads and bridges fully only when fighting is finished,” Ukravtodor spokesman Sergiy Levitskiy told SETimes. “If we restore the bridge now, for example, it could be bombed again. Accordingly, the money for these works will be also assigned later.”
Solontay said it is important to show people in liberated territories that the situation is changing for the better.
“People need to feel positive changes,” Solontay said. “No matter what change it is. It could be bridge repair, or a new train that connects liberated territory with the rest of Ukraine. The main thing is that people in the east could see it.”
What should be the government’s first steps in the recovery and reconstruction of eastern Ukraine? Share your thoughts in the comments section.