Green Post-War Reconstruction of Zaporizhzhya: How to Restore Destroyed Buildings

June 3, 2023
The post-war reconstruction is an opportunity to look into the future and to lay the foundation for the future generations.
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Constant shelling of front-line towns and villages, regular missile strikes on Zaporizhzhya itself, wrecked homes, and damaged infrastructure facilities have all become a daily reality thanks to the occupier’s aggression.

During an air raid at around 3:20 AM on the night of September 24, residents of Zaporizhzhya were jolted awake by a series of explosions. Soon afterwards, Anatoliy Kurtev, the city’s acting mayor, confirmed that one of five enemy rockets fired at the city had hit a residential building, and there were casualties.

It was the first apartment building in Zaporizhzhya to be hit by a Russian missile.

The scale of damage from the strike became known in a few hours, when the authorities published the first photos from the scene. That night, the Russians hit a three-story building on the picturesque Kiyashko Street in the Zaporizhzhya’s Dnipro District on the city’s right bank.

Image: the Main Office of the State Emergency Service in Zaporizhzhya Oblast.

The blast killed one person and injured nine others. It also damaged windows and roofs in several dozen houses near the impact site.

As of the beginning of April 2023, a total of 11 apartment buildings have been destroyed in Zaporizhzhya since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion, while another 533 have been damaged.

Sobornyi Avenue, 151 Zestafonska Street, 8

  • Aftermath of Russian Missile Strikes on the Nights of October 6 and 9, 2022

184 apartments have been completely or partially destroyed, another 262 apartments have rendered uninhabitable.

In addition, the Russians have destroyed 14 houses and damaged another 542. Russia has left 443 people homeless, and the number increases every time another one of their missiles falls on Zaporizhzhya..

City authorities have already been prepared to restore the housing destroyed by Russian bombing. At the end of December, the city council created a Housing Fund Reconstruction Program and allocated money for the preparation of reconstruction projects.

On April 20, the city allocated almost UAH 98 million to start the restoration works on the first four houses partially destroyed by Russian bombing: Stalevariv Street -- more than UAH 27.8 million, on 8, Zestafonska Street -- UAH 25 million and on 151, Sobornyi Avenue -- UAH 25 million. The above-mentioned building at 22, Kiyashko Street being also on the list, UAH 20 million have already been allocated for its reconstruction.

The Closer to the Front Line, the Worse the Scale of Destruction in Zaporizhzhya Oblast

"According to local self-government bodies, at least 481 apartment buildings and 4,337 private residential buildings have been completely destroyed or partially damaged in different settlements of the Ukraine-controlled territory of Zaporizhzhya Oblast. The real numbers are much higher, because residential buildings are being damaged every day in the war zone," explains Vitaliy Lytvynenko, the director of the Department of Housing and Communal Services and Construction of the Zaporizhzhya Oblast Military Administration.

Update: The Oblast Military Administration updated the number total to 5,115 houses completely destroyed or partially damaged as of April 22.

Vitaliy Lytvynenko, the Director of the Department of Housing and Communal Services and Construction of the Zaporizhzhya Oblast Military Administration

Front-line communities have been the hardest hit. Every day, reports from the Ukrainian General Staff mention villages and towns in Polohiv and Vasyliv Districts of Zaporizhzhya Oblast hit by enemy artillery, tanks, aviation, misiles, and drones. The Russians are especially merciless towards people in the Huliaipole and Orikhiv communities.

Svitlana Mandrych, the deputy mayor of Orikhiv, says that "not one of our city's 56 apartment buildings remains undamaged. About 50% of houses have also been destroyed. Our schools, kindergartens, cultural center, library, and sports and music schools have all suffered from Russian shelling."

Svitlana Mandrych, the Deputy Mayor of Orikhiv

Fighting remains ongoing, so it is too early to talk about the large-scale restoration of destroyed buildings. However, where possible, work has already begun, first and foremost in Zaporizhzhya itself. Damaged buildings have been sealed up to protect them from environmental damage.

Vitaliy Lytvynenko explains that "the State Reconstruction Agency has been creating a Register of Damaged and Destroyed Property [which records information about residential and other buildings destroyed during the Russian invasion -- ed] and developing project documentation. Unfortunately, this work is focused on Zaporizhzhia.

The register currently contains information about ten apartment buildings damaged in the city. One restoration project has already been developed and submitted for consideration. As for the others, work is ongoing.

During his recent visit to the site of a missile strike [ on March 22 -- ed], President Zelenskyypaid special attention to the issue of restoring destroyed housing stock. Today, work is underway where it is possible and logical. However, if we consider, Orikhiv, for example, it unfortunately makes no sense right now either to conduct inspections of damaged buildings or to develop cost estimates and design documentation, because any building could be destroyed by a Russian bomb at any minute."

The Law "On Compensation for Damage and Destruction of Certain Categories of Real Estate Objects as a Result of Hostilities, Terrorist Acts and Sabotage Caused by the Military Aggression of the Russian Federation" came into force on May 22. To quickly receive full funding for reconstruction of houses in the future, the Zaporizhzhya Oblast Military Administration recommends its communities to speed up the process of listing information about damaged buildings and losses caused by enemy attacks in the State Property Register.

Modern Solutions and Green Technologies: Preparations for Large-Scale Reonstruction Already Underway

According to the Kyiv School of Economics and their Russia Will Pay project, Russia has caused almost USD 144 billion damage to Ukraine’s infrastructure since the start of its full-scale invasion. A total of more than 150,000 houses and apartment buildings have been either damaged or destroyed. Losses from the destruction of the housing stock amount to more than USD 53.6 billion.

Infographics: The Kyiv School of Economics.

In Ukraine, both state authorities and civil society have been actively discussing what the large-scale post-war reconstruction of the country should look like.

It is quite clear that any restoration of destroyed infrastructure in front-line regions can begin only after the fighting ends on the front line and the temporarily-occupied territories are liberated. While we await the march of our Armed Forces towards victory, we can spend this time planning, designing and finding financing for future large-scale construction.

On April 21, 2022, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy created the National Council for War Recovery . The Council and its 24 working groups developed a plan of measures for Ukraine's post-war recovery both during and after the war.

The working group on reconstruction and modernization of Ukrainian cities created a 350-page document explaining in detail the main directions and key principles of the future reconstruction with the use of modern solutions and green technologies based on the best international practices.

The National Council for Reconstruction called for:

  • recovery projects which take into account the UN's global sustainable development goals;
  • a significant increase in energy efficiency and in the share of renewable energy sources in Ukraine's electricity infrastructure;
  • the creation of an inclusive environment with equal access to opportunities for all citizens;
  • ensuring that reconstructed facilities meet civil defense requirements in case of future emergency situations.

The document states that "the systematic planning of reconstruction and further development of the country provides a unique opportunity to rethink, redesign. and modernize buildings and livelihood systems to ensure a comprehensive transformation of territorial communities and regions. The reconstruction of Ukrainian towns and villages after the war will be a complex process that must ensure modernization and further development in the decades ahead. Our great recovery must include the principles of people-centeredness, smart spatial planning, balance of resettlement and jobs, sustainable urban mobility, inclusiveness, energy efficiency, environmental friendliness and other crucial development priorities."

Image: freepik.com.

Members of the Government and the Verkhovna Rada worked with 42 Ukrainian civil society organizations develop seven principles on which to base Ukraine's post-war recovery and green economy development. They include environmental standards at all levels, use of European environmental planning tools, involvement of the public and communities in decision-making, and effective use of targeted funds.

"We have been talking not only about reconstruction, but also about creating a sustainable future for the next generations. We emphasize the importance of the environmental dimension of reconstruction and development activities so that the new Ukraine is a comfortable, safe, healthy, and prosperous home for all Ukrainians," the appeal reads. "For long-term planning and new capital construction, we need to think not only about the cost of projects today, but also about their long-term effectiveness and full cost with a vision for the future."

Ukraine to Become a Model of Energy-Efficient Reconstruction for the Whole of Europe

Anastasiya Horbach, an expert on energy policy at the NGO Ecoaction, explains, “when talking about the large-scale reconstruction of buildings for both the residential and public sectors, we should focus not on speed, but on quality and compliance with energy efficiency standards.

The restoration process must be carried out according to sustainable green principles complying with EU directives on energy efficiency, which Ukraine has undertaken to follow [by signing the Association Agreement with the European Union in 2014]. We must forget the experience from Soviet times of building the so-called khrushchevkas [the iconic concrete apartment blocks named after the Soviet leader who oversaw their proliferation as the dominant housing stock across the Soviet Union] where they didn’t pay enough attention to the quality of materials and construction technologies. We want new housing buildings to meet the highest energy efficiency standards.

The life span of buildings and the utility costs for their residents will depend on this. Insulated facades, energy-efficient windows, modern heat supply systems, general building and apartment meters, individual heating units, and efficient ventilation systems – it is important to follow all standards and to perform high-quality reconstruction from the very beginning. In addition, especially in the front-line cities like Zaporizhzhia, it is worth providing for individual electricity generation. Installing solar panels and batteries is a very energy-efficient and sustainable solution reducing the stress on the electric grid and helping people during the sort of blackouts we witnessed this winter.”

Anastasiya Horbach, energy policy expert at the NGO Ecoaction

On the one hand, the scale of destruction in Ukraine is truly unprecedented. On the other, Horbach explains that the opportunity to build anew gives Ukraine the chance to implement strong energy efficiency measures combined with renewable energy technologies as the country reconstructs its villages, cities, and energy system. This would allow Ukraine to become a model for all of Europe to follow in green development and construction.

  • The reconstruction of the outpatient clinic in the village of Horenka in Kyiv Oblast's Bucha District, which was hit by a Russian projectile at the beginning of the full-scale war, is a successful example of green reconstruction based on NZEB (nearly-zero energy building) design.

Since the clinic was rebuilt, it has operated, a 20 kW heat pump (one of the most modern and environmentally friendly means of heating supply) as well as a 12 kW solar station with an 8 kW battery. The green rebuilding of the heating system has made it possible to increase the building's energy efficiency, to reduce its environmental impact, and to lower heating costs by 80 %. Thanks to its solar panels, the clinic has been able to operate even power outages without a generator. Ecoaction served as one of the organizers of the restoration project. All reconstruction costs will be fully repaid in 6 to 7 years thanks to energy savings and the clinic’s own production of electricity.

Horenka’s outpatient clinic after reconstruction. Image: Ecoaction.

*Horbach8 says that post-war reconstruction discussions need to be started within recovering communities themselves. At the national level, there are currently no funds available to start high-quality, high-cost large-scale reconstruction. That is why active communities should start analyzing and assessing the damage they have sustained and independently proceed with creating their own clear recovery programs.

Firstly, unlike the national government, communities can prepare a high-quality recovery program that is focused on their local problems. Secondly, once communities have developed compelling reconstruction proposals that are in line with EU energy efficiency directives, they can independently begin finding international donors and other financing.

The City of Irpin, Kyiv's largest suburb. has already provided a precedent for how this can work. After completing an analysis of the city's urban development situation before the full-scale invasion and the destruction caused during the Russian occupation, the Urbanina Urban Project Office presented a report on April 7 with general and project short- and long term recommendations for high-quality sustainable restoration. Irpin suffered significant destruction of its housing and social infrastructure, with half of all its buildings sustaining damage and total losses reaching USD 25 billion).

The Zatyshnyi 2020 and Novo-Osokolskyi Residential Complex Housing Cooperatives in Irpin, which became the First Participants of the VidnovyDIM (RestoreYourHOME) State Program under the Energy Efficiency Fund. Pictured before and after Restoration

  • "One of the main principles of our recommendations is to rebuild Irpin with an emphasis on the quality of life, safety, and comfort in order to encourage those who lived here before the full-scale war to return. The recommendations focus on planning aspects of city development, public spaces, and mobility," the report explains.

However, according to Ecoaction, the objective reality is that it is currently quite difficult for communities located in front-line oblasts (as opposed to those in the rear like in Kyiv Oblast) to attract funding for reconstruction from foreign donors or investors because of the high risks of repeated destruction. But this does not at all mean that the planning and designing of future projects must wait until victory comes.

High-Quality Thermal Modernization of a Multi-Story Building to Reduce Energy Consumption by 3 Times

For the past 15 years, Serhiy Chynyonov, the head of the Thermotechnologies Engineering Company in Zaporizhzhya ", has worked on both the implementation of energy saving solutions and the introduction of alternative energy sources for businesses, housing cooperatives, and homeowners. He believes that the post-war restoration of residential buildings needs to include measures to reduce energy costs and increase autonomy.

"In Zaporizhzhya, most of the housing stock consists of buildings constructed in the 60s to 90s, when energy costs were dirt cheap. The typical nine-story apartment blocks were built from the least energy-efficient expanded clay concrete (modern houses are most often built from foam concrete), and their walls, ceilings and roofs were built thin and with no insulation. Because of poor building standards, these buildings have an imbalance in their heating systems, with temperatures usually lower in the apartments at the ends of the building and on the upper floors.

As a result, most people live in Class G housing, which is the lowest energy efficiency class," Chynyonov explains.

Serhiy Chynyonov, the Director of the Thermotechnologies Engineering Company

Complex thermal modernization can bring a building up to Class A or B (with Class C being the mandatory minimum according to the latest state building regulations). This modernization will ensure the most efficient expenditure of every hryvnya invested, making housing at least twice as energy efficient and utility services much cheaper.

"It is crucial to understand that mere partial modernization will not bring much benefit. If we properly insulate a building but don't balance its heating system, it will lead to certain apartments being overheated to 27 to 28° C. Their occupants will have to open their windows to lower the temperature to a comfortable 21 to 24° C, which, in turn, will mean heat loss.

Therefore, in addition to providing insulation, it is necessary to modernize the heating system and adjust it at the entrances and on upper floors. Proper heating regulation allows us to save a huge amount of energy. In a typical Soviet-era nine-story building, this is the only way to achieve a 30 to 50% reduction in heat energy consumption. Its residents will immediately see this reduction in their utility bills," Chynynov argues.

Image: freepik.com.

Before the start of the full-scale invasion, Chynynov's company had begun carrying out complex thermal modernization on a multi-story building in Zaporizhzhya's Shevchenko District. '

After insulating the house completely and balancing its heating system, the cost of heating was supposed to decrease by 3 to 3.2 times. Because of the war, work on the project is currently paused. Back in 2021, however, there were three other housing cooperatives in the city that were eagerly awaiting the final results of of this modernization in order to consider implementing similar measures in their buildings.

"Another important issue is electricity. Electricity costs and the number of household appliances people use have been constantly increasing. The last six months of blackouts have made it clear that the centralized energy supply system inherited from the Soviet Union has its shortcomings. A modern solution to this problem would be to install solar panels on the roofs of buildings. This would provide an autonomous power source to meet the building's basic needs, like powering its elevators, lights, water pumps, individual heating units, and possibly a charging point for mobile devices," Chynynov explains.

Thus, complex modernization of a residential building based on the principles of energy saving with the use of green technologies will allow not only to improve the comfort of living, but also to significantly reduce costs of utility services.

Residents of the Vidrodzhennya 1 Housing Cooperative in Zaporizhzhya know this first hand. Since 2010, thanks to financing from city and state programs, with an active participation of these residents, it has become possible to make a typical Soviet-era five-story building correspond to energy efficiency class C, meeting the state standards for new buildings.

The Vidrodzhennya 1 Housing Cooperative

Lyudmyla Delalova, the head of the housing cooperative, shares, “In every house, changes must begin with the replacement of its communications. There is no point in reconstruction, if water seeps under the house causing its destruction, sooner or later.

In our house, first of all, we regulated electrical networks and switchboards, installed energy-saving windows and repaired all entrance groups. After that, our housing cooperative invested in basalt wool insulation of the walls. We felt an increase in the temperature in our apartments, but our bills for utility services did not reduce. Therefore, in 2015, an individual heating unit was installed. This modern equipment allowed us to adjust battery temperature in our apartments during the day, depending on the weather. Balancing temperature with the help of shut-off fittings on the risers of the heating system in each entrance helped us to reduce our expenditures.

After that, many other works were done in the house: the basement was repaired and insulated, the roof and sewerage were repaired, cosmetic repairs were made in all entrances, and many other things.”

Lyudmyla Delalova, the Head of the Vidrodzhennya 1 Housing Cooperative

All these works have made it possible to halve the residents' heating costs and to significantly increase their comfort level.

Lyudmyla Delalova says, "After the full-scale invasion began, our plans to further improve our house were put on hold. Almost across the street, a house was destroyed by a Russian rocket, so it became difficult to persuade apartment owners to start any works now. We have been simply postponing this process."

An Autonomous Town in the Suburbs of Zaporizhzhya as a Wartime Requirement

On May 25, 2022, Russian troops struck the private sector in the Shevchenko District of Zaporizhzhia. The rocket attack completely destroyed two houses and made two families, who miraculously survived, homeless.

The Volunteer Center "Palyanytsia" came to help these people. The benefactors announced a fundraiser and started construction works on August 6. Exactly six months later, there was a housewarming ceremony in the newly built duplex house -- a two-apartment residential building for two families with two separate entrances.

Two Families, Who had Lost Their Homes After a Rocket Attack, Settled in This Duplex House Built by the Volunteer Center “Palyanytsia” Thanks to the Donations of Caring People. Image: the Volunteer Center “Palyanytsia” Charitable Foundation.

Built in compliance with the latest technologies, this energy-efficient house with insulation and solid fuel boilers has become the point of departure for the Palyanytsia Town project. Understanding the need for housing internally displaced people, the volunteers have decided to create a suburban complex for 24 families, who lost their homes as a result of hostilities.

Palyanytsia Town, a modern energy independent town for internally displaced people with its own infrastructure and a shelter on its territory, is set to be built in the suburb of Zaporizhzhya -- in the village of Mykhailo-Lukasheve in the Shyroke community. Its energy autonomy will be provided by heat pumps and solar power plants.

Roman Kasyan, the head of the Palyanytsia Town NGO, says, "We have calculated that it would be cheaper and much more promising to create a town that would meet all modern housing requirements than to simply buy apartments. The war has showed us that we can be left without electricity for a certain period of time, and, therefore, houses must be autonomous. It has been planned that people living here would have conditions for employment created for them, in the greenhouse economy."

A full-fledged three-room apartment with an area of 40 square meters will have everything necessary for a family with children (up to 5 people): from furniture to household items and dishes.

The only thing currently preventing this ambitious project from its launching is the proximity to the front line.

"Zaporizhzhya is a city that is very close to the front line. And currently its reconstruction is impossible, at least because of legal issues. We have already signed a memorandum with the Shyroke territorial community, where we plan to build this town, but we cannot get the permission to use the land.

Large international funds are ready to finance the project, but they have agreed to do this only after the end of the war. Otherwise, they would be more confident to cooperate with us earlier if we planned this construction somewhere in the depths of the country, far from the front line. Therefore, we have been waiting for good news from our soldiers in the Zaporizhzhya direction," Roman Kasyan continues.

Despite the temporary difficulties, volunteers are confident that Palyanytsia Town will be a success and can become the pilot project of the post-war reconstruction based on the principle of energy efficiency becoming a model for the deployment of similar, but larger-scale initiatives at the level of the entire state.


Representatives of the state and local authorities and experts have never hidden that it would take billions of hryvnyas and possibly decades to eliminate the consequences of the Russian invasion. The list of priority tasks after the victory and de-occupation is huge: from restoration of the economy and infrastructure facilities, the integration of the returned territories and the rehabilitation of victims to solving less obvious but also important problems of environmental restoration and green reconstruction of destroyed cities.

No European country has relevant experience that would serve as an accurate guide for Ukraine on this path. However, there are many practices tested abroad that can be useful in solving the numerous consequences of the Russian attack.

This especially applies to construction and modernization of residential buildings according to the principles of energy efficiency deploying energy recovery and generation technologies. Many successful housing cooperatives and modern businesses have already taken this path to reduce costs of utility services and know the steps to follow in order to succeed.

The terrible conditions in which Ukraine found itself, provide it with a unique opportunity for drawing the right conclusions and laying down pointers for its future recovery. Quick decisions can bring benefits in the short run, but it is worth looking ahead and thinking about long-term effectiveness. The already mentioned inconvenient Soviet-era khrushchevkas, built in haste half a century ago, helped to quickly reduce housing shortage, but in the long run they became a problem not easy to solve.

It is important to remember that the post-war reconstruction is an opportunity to look into the future and to lay the foundation for the future generations.

The material was prepared as part of the competition Environmental Chronicles of War: Record, Research, and Tell Stories implemented by the NGO Internews-Ukraine with the financial support of Journalismfund.eu.

Andrii Vavilov
Pershyi Zaporizhskyi (First Zaporizhzhian)