Russia’s War With Ukraine And The Situation Two Years On
Damage from Russian attacks in the Ukrainian city of Chernihiv. (Photo by Oleksandr Ratushniak/UNDP Ukraine)
(ANALYSIS) Feb. 24 marks two years since Putin’s Russia attacked Ukraine and unleashed a full-scale invasion, with horrific atrocities against the Ukrainian nation, in an attempt to destroy Ukraine as a country.
Only a few weeks after the beginning of the war, and as Russian troops were retreating from Bucha and Irpin, the world started to learn about the sheer brutality of Russian forces and Russia’s disregard for international humanitarian law (the laws of armed conflict).
The images of Ukrainian civilians lying dead on the streets of Bucha and the images of mass graves will haunt the world for years to come. Reports of conflict-related sexual violence, abduction of children and much more followed shortly after as well.
The two years have had a devastating toll on people in Ukraine, with causalities being assessed at over 10,000 civilians, including more than 560 children and over 18,500 being injured since Russia launched its full-scale armed attack against Ukraine (according to the U.N. data published in November 2023). However, the real numbers are likely to be much higher. Also, as the war rages on, these numbers will continue to increase.
In January 2024, Edem Wosornu, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs director of operations and advocacy, reported the scale of humanitarian needs in Ukraine remains vast, with more than 14.6 million people (about 40% of Ukraine’s population) requiring some form of humanitarian assistance. Four million people, including nearly 1 million children, are still displaced within the country. Over 6.3 million people continue to live as refugees globally.
The two years have had a devastating toll on Ukraine’s culture. A total of 4,779 cultural and tourist assets in Ukraine have been reported as damaged, including buildings of heritage value and works of art, among others. UNESCO estimated that the war has resulted in nearly $3.5 billion in damage, up from $2.6 billion the year before. The recovery will cost nearly $9 billion over the next decade.
The two years have had a devastating toll on the infrastructure. In February 2024, a new study revealed that the reconstruction and recovery in war-torn Ukraine would cost $486 billion over the next decade, up from $411 billion estimated a year ago. The Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment, issued by the government of Ukraine together with the World Bank Group, the European Commission and the U.N., covers damage incurred from the start of the full-scale Russian invasion in February 2022 to the end of December 2023.
The study indicates that housing needs are the highest within the estimate, with $80 billion or 17% of the overall estimated costs being for housing. This is followed by transport (almost $74 billion, or 15%), commerce and industry ($67.5 billion, or 14%), agriculture ($56 billion, or 12%), energy ($47 billion, or 10%), social protection and livelihoods ($44 billion, or 9%) and explosive hazard management (almost $35 billion or 7%). The report further indicated that, across all sectors, the cost of debris clearance and management alone reaches almost $11 billion.
Russia’s attack and the destruction of the people, the culture and the infrastructure are part of the campaign to destroy Ukraine as a country and the Ukrainian identity. Putin has never even attempted to hide this aim.
This is also an issue that cannot be forgotten as the war passes the two-year mark, and the war fatigue will continue to shift the focus from the war and atrocities to something else. We cannot forget that the war, unleashed by Russia, continues to be the lived reality of all in Ukraine.
Every day people in Ukraine are woken by the sounds of alarm. Every single day people are injured and killed. Every single day people live through trauma. Also, we cannot forget that this is not the first attack on Ukraine.
The international community must learn from past mistakes and the failure to address past attacks and atrocities against Ukraine, including in 2014. Ukrainians fight for their identity and the survival of their country, but also for the rest of the world. In order to do so, Ukraine needs all the assistance that is available.
This piece was republished from Forbes with permission.
Dr. Ewelina U. Ochab is a human rights advocate, author and co-founder of the Coalition for Genocide Response. She’s authored the book “Never Again: Legal Responses to a Broken Promise in the Middle East” and more than 30 UN reports. She works on the topic of genocide and persecution of ethnic and religious minorities around the world. She is on X @EwelinaUO.