The value of the damage caused to infrastructure in the Donbass is preliminarily estimated at UAH 2 billion, Ukraine’s Minister of Infrastructure Maksym Burbak has said.
"It is very difficult to determine the specific amount because fighting is currently continuing. However, the preliminary amount is about UAH 2 billion," he told reporters after the ceremonial opening of a railway station in Kramatorsk (Donetsk region) on Tuesday, the Interfax Ukraine news agency reports.
"What it (the size of the damage) will actually be is being clarified. I would like it to be less, but, judging by the behavior of the terrorists, they want to destroy the entire infrastructure of the Donbass," the minister added.
He stressed that restoration of the infrastructure in the liberated areas is a priority. "Our task: we must immediately establish infrastructure after the army liberates territory. The first task is restoration of railway traffic so that coal can be delivered to our combined heat and power plants," said Burbak.
He added that the State Railway Administration (Ukrzaliznytsia) is currently performing restoration work with its own funds.
Ukrzaliznytsia’s General Director Bohdan Ostapiuk said that the damage caused to Ukrzaliznytsia’s infrastructure in the Donbass was valued at about UAH 400-600 million.
"The approximate amount is UAH 400-600 million. It is difficult to say precisely because we currently have no access... We have 15 bridges damaged as of today, and we have restored two bridges. Track facilities, artificial structures, and substations [have been damaged]. Three traction substations were damaged on the Donetsk railway alone. The amount per substation ranges from UAH 36 to 110 million," he said.
Ostapiuk also said that railway stations in Slavyansk and Kramatorsk and a railway hospital in Krasny Liman have already been restored. "Next in line are railway facilities in the cities of Ilovaysk and Yasinovataya. Work there will begin immediately after they are liberated from the terrorists," said Ostapiuk.
