Until last February, Luba had a son and a home in Moschun. She worried about her job and daily work as a masseuse at a nearby health center. He also faced the recent loss of his elderly mother. Now, in gym clothes and with a fixed somber look, Luba walks among the ruins of her house, head bowed, stepping over scattered dishes and the remains of burnt tools. The ash, lime, and metal covering the floor make it hard to imagine what the single-story building once looked like. Nothing stood. Everything is burned or destroyed.
Moschun was a small town with modernist houses, manicured gardens, and a comfortable life. But when the Russian siege of Kyiv began, its location became a curse: roughly thirty kilometers from Kyiv, near military bases and an airport, it quickly fell under Russian control and within weeks became a focal point of the fiercest fighting in the first stage of Moscow’s war on Ukraine. The brutality was such that when the Russian army finally pulled out, residents learned how deeply the conflict had touched their town.
Sergii Zavadskyi, a member of the Rotary Foundation’s Ukrainian chapter, explains with numbers what this means. He notes that in Moschun over 400 houses were damaged by bombing, about 70 percent of them left uninhabitable, and roughly 150 are currently unsafe to live in. “It’s astonishing to witness something like this in the 21st century, and it’s a major concern as winter approaches,” he says, standing in front of Luba’s ruined home. Zavadskyi adds that Luba is among many who face a long road to recovery in a town where rebuilding still feels like an empty dream. Neighbors lack solid support from volunteers, and national and international funding has not yet begun to arrive. [Source: Rotary Foundation Ukrainian chapter]
Pessimism
Seventy-six-year-old Dmitry Vasily Mikhailovich surveys the remains of two old, burnt-out cars kept in his garage and a two-story house now reduced to rubble. “We didn’t get much help. No one reached out to us, and we’re still waiting. It took years to build this home, and now there’s nothing left,” he laments, as his wife gathers the fragments of a life that has vanished from the earth.
Fearing another return of Russian troops to this part of Ukraine, authorities hastened to unveil reconstruction plans. In May, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky launched a platform called United24, inviting countries, institutions, and individuals to donate to Ukraine’s rebuilding efforts. The Kyiv government began laying the groundwork for a bailout to restore the economy and sought compensation from Russia for the damage caused. A European-scale recovery plan, reminiscent of the postwar Marshall Plan for Ukraine, has been proposed, but a concrete launch date remains undetermined.
The estimated cost and economic impact of the war are staggering. Current estimates place damage around 600 billion dollars, with the final figure potentially reaching or exceeding a trillion. Extensive rebuilding will be required across 44 million square feet of homes and commercial buildings, nearly 200 industrial facilities, and about 25,000 kilometers of damaged highways, according to economist Sergiy Tsivkach, head of Ukraine Invest. [Source: Ukraine Invest]
Winter Threat
The most urgent concern is the looming winter horizon. In a country where temperatures often plunge below freezing, a plan must secure shelter for hundreds who would otherwise be left without a roof. Tsivkach emphasizes that urgent action is essential and that the country will need about 36,000 million to cover homes and businesses alone. He notes that potential investors and donors from around the world, including international financial institutions, the United States, and the European Union, as well as humanitarian organizations, must participate actively to avert a humanitarian crisis.
Achieving this will not be easy or quick. One challenge is ensuring proper oversight of how funds are allocated. Ukraine’s governance and corruption challenges have been well documented, with the country ranking 122nd out of 188 on the corruption perception index in recent years, a factor that has influenced donor confidence and reform efforts. The situation remains difficult, but international and local voices continue to push for transparency and rapid action. [Source: Transparency International assessments] | (Note: Multiple organizations have highlighted ongoing concerns about governance and the pace of reform.)