On Feb. 24, 2022, when Russia launched its full-scale invasion, one of the first missiles hit a residential building near my home. Not for a moment did it occur to me to leave the country — I stayed to help communities hold on and to defend our local populations.
My name is Nadiia Petruniak. I am a government communications expert and have been working for 11 years on the reform of local self-government in Ukraine — the very reform that Nobel laureate Roger Myerson referred to at the KSE Foundation charity event in New York on Sept. 17, 2022, saying, “This is the reform that stopped Putin.”
Recently, my friend Kent from Utah, learning that I was participating in a public event on Ukraine’s recovery, asked me, “Is it worth rebuilding Ukraine right now, while the war is still going on?”
This question touches not just on buildings or infrastructure — it is about human lives, communities and the hope we strive to preserve even in the darkest times.
The full-scale war in Ukraine has now lasted more than three and a half years. If we count from the beginning of the conflict in Eastern Ukraine, it has been 11 years. Over this time, hundreds of towns and villages have been almost completely destroyed, and many more have suffered 30 to 95% damage. The hardest hit areas are those on or near the front lines.
Many people have fled or been evacuated. Yet some stay behind, refusing to leave their homes. Local authorities continue to provide them with water, medicine, food and social services — even under shelling. Those who have left dream of returning, even if their homes are gone. Because if there are no people, there will be no towns, no villages, no cultural life. And if that happens, we lose part of Ukraine itself.
In areas where attacks are not constant, reconstruction has already begun. But it’s different from before the war: we are building underground schools, hospitals and critical infrastructure. People often ask why reconstruction happens here and not there. The answer is simple: we rebuild where people can live and work. Restoring a city of millions or an entire energy system requires enormous resources — especially after most of our energy infrastructure was destroyed. We have grown accustomed to power outages, which also affect water, heating and communications.
But this is just about buildings and infrastructure. The most important part is people. Our demographic situation is challenging. We need to restore our human potential: help those who left to return; support veterans and their families; give children the chance to grow up at home, not in evacuation; and provide psychological support to those who survived occupation or loss. Without this, no building, school or hospital will truly matter.
Kent asked about my meetings with the people involved in recovery. These are mainly local government officials from territories affected by fighting. They are like titans. Teachers, doctors, municipal workers — working at the very edge of what is possible. They care not only for those who stayed but also for those who left. And yet, they are still human: they have their own homes, their own health, children to raise, and relatives to care for.
So, to answer Kent’s main question — should we talk about rebuilding while the war continues? — my answer is clear: yes, absolutely. Reconstruction is not just about buildings. It is about hope. We must show people that their future is here, that we will never give their towns and villages to the enemy, and that they will live in their own homes, in their own country, speaking their own language.