ISTANBUL

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal on Thursday said that 18 residential buildings will be restored in various cities, towns and villages in the country’s Kyiv region after the amount needed for such initiatives was collected.

“Today, a government team was in the city which did not surrender. Irpin showed the Russian occupiers the power of Ukrainian weapons and the Ukrainian spirit. It is from here that we launch the first reconstruction projects within the framework of the UNITED24 platform. 18 residential buildings will be restored in Irpin, Borodianka, Hostomel, Buzova and Myla villages,” Shmyhal said in a message on Telegram.

Shmyhal further said that UNITED24, a global fundraising initiative for Ukraine, has collected most of the amount needed for the reconstruction to commence.

He said that the government allocated the first 465 million Ukrainian hryvnias ($12,6 million) to immediately begin reconstruction efforts.

“More than 4,000 people will be able to return to their homes. We will restore and rebuild everything that the enemy damaged and destroyed. We already understand where to get 110 billion Ukrainian hryvnias ($3 billion) for reconstruction this year. 2023 will be the year of our victory and the year of the beginning of our great restoration,” he added.

Irpin and Hostomel are two of 10 cities given the honorary title of Hero City of Ukraine for their resistance since the start of Russia’s “special military operation” in the country.

The Bucha district of the Kyiv region, where the buildings will be restored, had seen intense clashes between Ukrainian and Russian forces during the early stages of the war, most notably in the city of Bucha located around 24 kilometers (14.9 miles) from the capital Kyiv, where Moscow was accused by Ukraine of committing "genocide" and "war crimes."