War losses in Ukraine’s culture and tourism sector amount $19.6 billion, – prime minister
Source: Ukraine’s prime minister Denys Shmyhal
During the conference ‘United for justice. United for the preservation of cultural heritage’, Ukraine’s PM stated that, according to the World Bank’s assessment, losses in the culture and tourism sector of Ukraine amounted to 19.6 billion dollars. These are data only from Ukraine-controlled and liberated territories.
According to the head of the government, 8.9 billion dollars are needed for the long-term restoration of the damaged and destroyed objects.
‘The enemy professes the ideology of total destruction. They destroys residential buildings, schools and kindergartens, hospitals and power plants, factories and farms. In the same way, they erase temples, museums, theaters, historical buildings, monuments,’ Denys Shmyhal said.
In total, more than 900 objects of historical and cultural heritage became the targets of the Russians.
In addition, more than 20,000 cultural monuments of national and local importance are now under occupation.
He noted the importance of careful and correct assessment of damages and losses in the field of culture. According to him, this information will form the basis of the evidence base for international judicial institutions.
The prime minister emphasized that the world needs a precedent of punishment for vandalism and savagery in the field of culture. This will be of great importance for all humankind, for the protection and preservation of the heritage of our civilization, in all parts of the world and on all continents.
In 2025, the deadliest year yet for civilians, Ukraine’s three largest charitable foundations raised a record 105.9 billion hryvnias. It is more than the years 2022–2024 combined. According to the UN, humanitarian aid in Ukraine was delivered by more than 450 organisations, reaching five million people over the course of the year. Civic foundations hold licences to purchase lethal weapons, which is a function states have monopolised for centuries. These record sums were underwritten by international government grants, which means foreign states now channel billions directly through Ukrainian civic funds, bypassing inter-state channels. It is hard to imagine a stronger institutional trust in civil society.
During the GLOBSEC Defence Forum 2026 in Prague, representatives of “Steel Front”, an initiative by Rinat Akhmetov, discussed with NATO delegations, military officials, and representatives of the European defense industry the lessons learned from Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine.
After the start of the full-scale invasion in February 2022, Ukraine witnessed an unprecedented wave of private support for the army. Citizens, big businesses, charitable foundations, and international philanthropists began financing the country’s defense alongside state assistance provided by international partners. Estimates of total private contributions range from tens to hundreds of billions of hryvnias. However, determining the exact amount remains difficult. In many cases, companies combine military aid, humanitarian programs, tax payments, social spending, and employee support in their reporting.
Rinat Akhmetov’s military initiative, “Steel Front”, has delivered a batch of drones worth UAH 214 million to the 1st “Azov” Corps of the National Guard of Ukraine. This shipment is part of the Metinvest Group’s ongoing support for the unit in 2025.
On October 6, the Administrative Cassation Court within the Supreme Court of Ukraine continued hearing case No. 990/80/25, in which the fifth President and leader of the party “European Solidarity”, Petro Poroshenko, seeks to have Presidential Decree No. 81/2025 from February 12, 2025 — enacting sanctions by the decision of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) — declared illegal and annulled. The plaintiff claims the document was falsified and that the sanctions are a tool of political persecution of the opposition, contrary to international norms. Government representatives deny the allegations and insist their actions were lawful. Journalists of Bukvy were present at the hearing.