People say Ukraine will never recover. They’re wrong

From Bakhmut to Mariupol entire cityscapes have been devastated. But history also tells us that a durable peace is much likelier where planning for recovery begins early, writes Patrick Watt, chief executive of Christian Aid

Repairing Ukraine’s social fabric will take time and deliberate effort (Getty)

As Ukraine’s armed forces fight to reclaim territory from Russian invaders, the recovery conference in London this week might feel at best premature and at worst misplaced.

As the disaster of the Nova Kakhovka dam horrifyingly illustrates, the destruction of Ukraine is gearing up and adding daily to the toll of human suffering. Yet history also tells us that a durable peace is much likelier where planning for recovery begins early – before the guns fall silent and a political settlement is reached.

When the war ends, Ukraine’s reconstruction needs will be on a scale unlike anything seen in Europe since 1945. On the first anniversary of the war, the reconstruction and recovery bill was estimated at more than $400 billion. It will have risen significantly since. Indeed, the economy has shrunk by one-third, plunging millions of Ukrainians into poverty.