KIEV, October 14 (RIA Novosti) - The Kiev-controlled areas of southeastern Ukraine, which were damaged during the armed conflict in the region, will cost about $2 billion to rebuild, Ukrainian Finance Minister Oleksandr Shlapak said.
“If we are to talk about the territories [of Donbas], controlled by Ukraine, then, according to preliminary estimates, about $2 billion is needed for reconstruction,” Shlapak is quoted as saying by the Ukrinform news agency on Tuesday.
In order to collect these funds, Kiev is set to hold a “donor conference” in December. According to the Ukrainian finance minister, the most important tasks are to restore water and gas supplies and rebuild homes in the region.
Last week, Prime Minister of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic Alexander Zakharchenko stated the cost of Kiev's military crackdown will weigh heavily on the region of Donetsk, with war damage estimated at about $1 billion.
An armed conflict began in Ukraine in April, when Kiev authorities launched a military operation against independence supporters in the southeastern regions of the country. On September 5, the two conflicting sides agreed on a ceasefire during a meeting in Minsk of the trilateral Contact Group on Ukraine.
