Clearing War Debris Can Help Ukraine Move Forward

Mar 4, 2024 | J.A. Atchue III, Karl Dix, and Billy Tress
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When Russia launched its brutal invasion of Ukraine on February 22, 2024, Western nations supported Ukraine with military and financial aid. But over two years, the cost of the war has been devastating—not only in terms of lives lost, and injuries sustained, but also in the number of buildings destroyed. According to some estimates, more than 150K structures have been damaged in the conflict.

What that means is a lot of debris, and managing it is a complex and expensive task wherever such destruction occurs. In 2005, the removal of debris created by Hurricane Katrina cost $2.2 billion and took more than 18 months to complete. Debris removal in Port au Prince, Haiti, resulting from the 2010 earthquake took more than 5 years and cost $1 billion. Japan’s Great Eastern Earthquake and Tsunami of 2011 reportedly cost $200 billion and the project is still in progress. Managing debris is clearly on Ukraine’s critical path to restoration.