Over 200,000: New York Times analyses every destroyed or damaged building due to Russian aggression in Ukraine

The New York Times has analysed every building across Ukraine that has been damaged or destroyed since Russia's full-scale attack on Ukraine over the two years of the war. 

This is a vast area of approximately 210,000 buildings located along a rough 800-mile (approximately 1,287 km) frontline.

The publication notes that even if the war ends tomorrow, many places will have nowhere to go. Few countries since the Second World War have experienced this level of destruction. 

‘This is the first comprehensive picture of where the war in Ukraine has been fought and the extent of the destruction. Using a detailed analysis of satellite data obtained over the years, we have created records of every city, every street, every building that has been damaged,’ the statement said.

It is noted that the scale is difficult to comprehend. More buildings have been destroyed in Ukraine than if every building in Manhattan had been destroyed four times in a row. Parts of Ukraine, hundreds of miles apart, look like Dresden or London after World War II, or Gaza after six months of bombing.

The analysis shows that more than 900 schools, hospitals, churches and other institutions have been damaged or destroyed, even though these objects are explicitly protected by the Geneva Conventions.

These estimates are conservative. They do not include Crimea or parts of western Ukraine where accurate data was not available. The true extent of the destruction is likely to be even greater - and it is still growing. In mid-May, the Russians bombed some towns in northeastern Ukraine so fiercely that one resident said they were wiping out the streets.

At the same time, the publication notes that Ukraine is determined to rebuild. The hope, albeit a distant one, is that through international cooperation, Ukraine will receive Russian assets and force Russia to pay for the reconstruction of entire towns such as Maryinka.

The publication also points out that there could still be a long war ahead. In recent months, the Russians have been on the offensive, destroying even more communities as their army seems to be pushing inexorably forward. Ten million Ukrainians have fled their homes - one in four.