DONETSK, October 9 (RIA Novosti) - The cost of Kiev's military crackdown will weigh heavily on the besieged region of Donetsk, with war damage estimated at about $1 billion, the head of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) said Wednesday.
"It's too early to give the exact figure and all estimates are still preliminary, but it is no less than a billion dollars," DPR Prime Minister Alexander Zakharchenko said at a press conference in Donetsk.
Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman said earlier that Kiev's military operation against independence supporters in eastern Ukraine had destroyed almost all of the region's infrastructure. According to the government's estimates, it will take about $911 million to rebuild war-hit cities.
In April, Kiev forces started a military operation against militias in eastern Ukraine, which according to UN figures claimed the lives of over 3,600 people and left 8,500 injured.
Due to the conflict, Ukraine's southeastern regions witnessed a severe humanitarian catastrophe, as many citizens have struggled without clean water, electricity and other basic necessities.
