Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Shmigal warned Thursday that losses from the war account for a third of the Ukrainian economy and lamented a rise in inflation of more than 26 percent.
Shmigal explained that the economy has fallen by more than 30 percent over the last year and stressed that many companies «have been destroyed», such as the Azovstal steel plant, which was heavily attacked by Russian forces.
However, he emphasized that despite this fall, the Ukrainian economy has also received tax revenues «since the companies wanted to contribute to support the army» in the fight against the Russian forces.
«All the taxes collected went to the Armed Forces and the other half was given by our allies, especially Germany», he explained before thanking Berlin for its help, according to the Ukrinform news agency.
Regarding the reconstruction work after the end of the war, Shmigal estimated that the costs could amount to between 600 and 750 billion euros. In this sense, he emphasized that these tasks «should not fall on the shoulders of European or American taxpayers» but that «it should be the aggressor who pays for the damage and the loss of human lives».
«Damages and losses should be compensated with Russian assets frozen abroad, totaling between 350 billion and 500 billion euros. In Ukraine, assets frozen in two Russian banks total approximately 423 billion euros,» he said.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
