Ukraine secures desperately needed funds from World Bank
Al Jazeera
With US and EU funding delayed, Kyiv said the money would stabilise its economy as it continues to repel Russian attacks.
Ukraine has received a vital $1.34bn in funds from the World Bank.
The funding has been paid out to support non-security related financial and economic stability, Ukraine’s Ministry of Finance said on Monday. The cash boost will be welcomed by Kyiv, which warns that its ability to defend against the Russian invasion could soon be impacted by delays in funding from the United States and the European Union.
In a statement, the ministry noted that the financing, which is the Sixth Additional Financing under its Public Expenditures for Administrative Capacity Endurance in Ukraine (PEACE) project, consisted of a $1.086bn loan from the World Bank, a $190m grant from Norway, a $50m grant from the United States and a $20m grant from Switzerland.
The funds are expected to be used to partially compensate for non-security and defence-related expenditures of the Ukrainian state budget, including old-age social payments and payments to employees of the state emergency service, the ministry added.
“International financial assistance is a significant contribution to maintaining Ukraine’s financial and economic stability and allows us to provide priority social expenditures during the war,” said Ukrainian Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko.
