Oleg Dunda, a Ukrainian MP of the presidential party spoke to Rudaw on July 6 in Kyiv, discussing the current situation in Ukraine as the war continues for its fifth month and the chances of rebuilding the demolished cities and regions of the country.
The following transcript has been edited for length and clarity.
Rudaw: Hello Oleg, thank you for coming. I would like to ask how much damage has the war on Ukraine inflicted in percentages.
Hello Dilnya. It is a difficult question because it is difficult to calculate damages like that in percentage as the extent of damage is not the same in Ukraine’s regions. For instance, 80 percent of Mariupol is destroyed; Kharkiv and Mykolaiv are also significantly destroyed, including some cities in Kyiv. However, for example, the Vinnytsia region is almost not damaged at all. The damages are also difficult to evaluate as the war is not over yet with Ukraine suffering new damages every day hence why we estimate damages in a monetary amount, and today we put the damages at $600 to $700 billion.
Mr. Zelenskiy said that Ukraine needs $750 billion to rebuild the country. How can you get this money? Also given that Mariupol, and Severedonetsk are lost and Ukraine is about to lose Donbas.
We estimate regional territorial losses as temporary. We are completely confident that we will retake these lands, it is just a matter of time until we do so. Severodonetsk and Mariupol will need to be rebuilt once liberated. Regarding the [fund] sources, Ukraine is fighting for its independence so all funds and resources are directed to its defense sphere and to the social sphere where it focuses on supporting civilians who are not fighting. So, to build Ukraine’s economy means we must be supported by our international partners. Also, numerous Russian assets are now being seized worldwide and now the mechanism is to direct the money to Ukraine to rebuild its economy it is not something new in the history of mankind, it is just a kind of reparation – when the aggressor country pays at its own cost for the damages it has caused during the war. However, these reparations unfortunately cannot return lost lives.
I would like to know about Bucha and Irpin – how long will it take to rebuild them and how and when are you planning to do it?
The situation in every city is specific. For instance, when we talk about Bucha we understand that it’s a city where numerous massacres against civilians took place, but the city itself has not suffered from severe damage. It can be repaired this year. But speaking about Borodianka, we understand that the central street of the city is completely destroyed, and to rebuild Borodianka we will actually have to build a new city which will take several years.
Which country has aided you the most for the reparation, and how much money have they provided?
We must understand that there are different types of aid – military aid and aid for recovery. Regarding military aid, we receive it mostly from the US and the UK. They have helped us enormously, other countries also do so. For humanitarian aid, we receive it from many countries, including Azerbaijan, Turkey, and Middle Eastern countries. In regards of recovery aid, we first have to elaborate and create a mechanism to receive it because our international partners have money that can be directed to Ukraine, but there is no instrument to send it to us hence why a conference in Lugano took place recently. But I know that our international partners have reserved money to be sent to Ukraine as soon as we have a legal mechanism to do it, which includes the mechanism to control how this money is spent.
How much financial aid will be provided to the families who have lost their homes?
The government of Ukraine has so far provided 2.5 billion Ukrainian hryvnia (over $84 million) for the families who lost their homes. But this is for some minor reparations and damages, and not to recover completely destroyed homes. Now we are also working on creating legal mechanisms on how to direct international financial aid for these purposes. But these are minor repatriations as we are talking about Kyiv and Chernihiv regions. But when we liberate Luhansk, Donetsk, Herson, and Zaporizhia regions – we know that we will need much more money to rebuild these regions. Moreover, the war is not over and we suffer from losses every day as it is happening now in Kharkiv and Mykolaiv which are heavily shelled on daily basis, and we cannot start the rebuilding process today as it could be demolished again tomorrow.
Where do you expect Ukraine to head by the end of the year?
You have to differentiate hopes and expectations. So, my hopes are that we will be able to liberate Ukraine by the end of this year and return all the territories. However, my expectations depend on our international partners and how much they are willing to provide Ukraine with weapons. If they give us the amounts we ask for then my hopes will coincide with my expectations as we completely depend on our international partners in the sense of weapons and supplies. We are ready to fight, and we proved that in February, March, and April when we liberated Kyiv, Chernihiv, and other regions. We are a nation eager to fight, but we cannot fight without modern weapons.
What is your comment about the remarks that say the war in Ukraine will take years? And if it does, can you rebuild the country? For example, I saw in Kharkiv that most building are damaged and there have not been any attempts to rebuild them, but when we spoke to the people they said the government has told them to wait until the war is over. What will the situation be if the war takes years until it is over?
The war is ongoing now but not in all the regions of Ukraine. For example, Kharkiv is being targeted and destroyed every day and it makes no sense to rebuild something that is under the threat of being re-destroyed. But liberated regions and those that are at low risk of destruction will be rebuilt as the process has already begun in Kyiv and Chernihiv. It will also start in Mykolaiv where we have already pushed the enemy to the south. It is difficult to consider rebuilding regions near the fighting line. We would be happy to liberate our land sooner than later, but that depends on the weapon supplies rather than our desires. If we have weapons then we can liberate Ukraine faster, and if we don’t then it will take longer.
What are your expectations for the parliamentary elections in 2023 and the presidential elections in 2024?
Do you mean the expected results of the elections or my prognosis on whether it will take place or not?
I mean will it happen or not; can you hold the elections or not?
Legally we cannot hold any elections as long as the martial law is effective. It depends on when the war will finish and we can only hold the vote after that. And regarding the possible results, it is up to the people of Ukraine who to vote for … Yesterday I talked to French journalists and I have an impression that if they had a right to vote in Ukraine, they would vote for Zelenskiy, instead of Macron.
Thank you very much Oleg.
Thank you Dilnya.
