Ukrainian PM: 656 Hospitals, 12 Airports Destroyed by Russian Strikes

Ukrainian Prime Minister (PM) Denis Shmyal said on Monday that the total sum of infrastructure damages amounted to $104 billion.

Addressing the UK-Ukrainian Infrastructure Summit, Shmyhal added that at least 45 million square meters of housing, 656 hospitals, more than 1,200 educational institutions, and nearly 25,000 kilometers of roads, as well as 300 bridges and 12 airports, have been destroyed, as a result of the Russian strikes.

Moreover, the Ukrainian PM said that the government will present a recovery plan for Ukraine – United24 – during the next month, urging all parties to join hands to implement it.

It is worth mentioning that the Russian-Ukrainian conflict reached a new turning point on February 21st, after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the recognition of Donetsk and Luhansk as independent republics of Ukraine, as an escalatory step that drew great anger from Kyiv and its Western allies.

In the wake of this, the Russian forces began, at dawn on Thursday, February 24th, to launch a military operation in eastern Ukraine, which opened the door to the possibility of the outbreak of a “third world war”, which would be the first in the twenty-first century.