NYT: During the invasion, Russia destroyed at least 210 thousand houses in Ukraine

Author:
Olha Bereziuk
Date:

In the period from February 2022 to December 2023, about 210,000 buildings were destroyed in Ukraine, which were mainly along the almost 1,300 km long front line.

Such calculations were published by The New York Times newspaper.

Journalists, together with scientists, analyzed satellite images of every building in the country that was damaged or destroyed during two years of full-scale war.

The city of Mariupol in Donetsk region, which was under a Russian siege and is now under occupation, suffered the greatest destruction.

Among the other cities that were completely or significantly destroyed by Russian troops are Kharkiv, Maryinka, Rubizhne, Bakhmut, Irpin, Zaporizhzhia, Orihiv, Kherson, Nova Kakhovka, Oleshki, the ports of Reni and Izmail.

Kyiv, Dnipro, Odesa, and Chernihiv were also significantly affected by rocket attacks.

The publication emphasized that a lot of destruction was also caused by the attacks of the Ukrainian military, in particular, on Crimea and Donetsk, which have been occupied since 2014.

"Although it is not always possible to determine which side is responsible, the destruction recorded in Russian-controlled territories pales in comparison to what is observed on the Ukrainian side," the journalists write.

According to The New York Times, more than 900 schools, hospitals and churches protected by the Geneva Conventions have been destroyed in Ukraine. In particular, at least 106 hospitals and clinics, 109 religious objects (churches, temples, mosques, monasteries), and 708 educational institutions (schools, colleges, and universities) were destroyed.

The publication added that their estimates were "deliberately conservative" and that the actual extent of destruction was likely to be worse than what the analysis could confirm.