The scale of damage caused to Kharkiv due to Russian shelling reaches $9 billion, reports Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov in an interview with “BBC News Ukraine”.

“A bit more than $9 billion damage so far. But that’s a very rough estimation, and I’ll tell you why. Here is the projectile hitting the ground. It seems that there is not even any destruction. But there are utility systems underground! Any contact of the projectiles with the ground causes pipe deformation. Today you don’t see it, but tomorrow you realize that part of the pipeline is missing,” Terekhov said.

Meanwhile, the works on the restoration of residential buildings continue. According to Terekhov, last year 185 buildings that had been damaged by shelling were already reconstructed. Work on the restoration of Northern Saltivka, one of the most affected Kharkiv districts, is also underway.

More than 4,500 houses were damaged in Kharkiv, 500 of which cannot be restored, added the mayor.

Moreover, during the 11 months of the full-scale war in Kharkiv Oblast, more than 18,000 buildings have been destroyed, including 8,000 residential buildings.

Earlier this week, the Russian occupants launched a series of missile attacks on Kharkiv, one of the shells hit the ground in Central Park.