Ukraine to receive $1.34bln from World Bank to pay salaries, pensions
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Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal notes that Ukraine is also anticipated to receive more than $30 billion in financial aid from the EU, the US, allies and the International Monetary Fund to make up for the state budget deficit.
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Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal in Bucharest, Romania, Friday, Aug. 18, 2023. (AP)
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal announced on Friday that his country is expected to receive $1.34 billion from the World Bank, designated to pay pensions and salaries in the country.
Shmyhal took to Telegram to say, "The World Bank is allocating an additional $1.34 billion to Ukraine. The funds will be used to pay pensions, teachers' salaries, support IDPs [internally displaced persons] and for other priority state budget expenditures."
"The bulk of the funding package, $1.086 billion, is from the Japanese government. The rest is grants from the United States, Switzerland, and the Ukraine Relief, Recovery, Reconstruction and Reform Trust Fund," he added.
This comes almost a month after the head of the Ukrainian parliament's tax committee, Danylo Hetmantsev, declared that Ukraine's state budget was significantly dependent on external aid, and that it needed approximately $9.5 billion in the form of grants and soft loans by the end of this year - in around 2 weeks.
European Commission spokesperson Ana Pisonero previously emphasized last week the importance of the European Union reaching an agreement on the 50 billion euro ($53 billion) budget allocation for Ukraine before the year's end.
"It is crucial from our perspective to reach an agreement before the end of the year indeed so Ukraine can continue to receive support as of the beginning of next year," Pisonero told reporters.
Shmyhal noted that Ukraine is also anticipated to receive more than $30 billion in financial aid from the European Union, the US, allies, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to make up for the state budget deficit.
When the flow stops
In a plan dubbed by the opposition as "financial trickery," German Chancellor Olaf Scholz warned parliament, in a government statement yesterday, that Germany might need to declare a state of emergency at home to provide Kiev with assistance in 2024 to make up for the gap by the EU.
While the German opposition, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), vowed to never let it happen, the chancellor stressed that he would "advocate sustainable, reliable support for Ukraine, because it is about the security of Europe".
What this aid to Ukraine entails is $8.63 billion in arms, an unspecified amount to be allocated as financial aid to the Kiev budget, and $6.47 billion to be allocated to support Ukrainian refugees residing in Germany.
On the US side, President Joe Biden has pledged to send an additional $200 million in aid to Ukraine, as discussed in a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday.
Read more: Advisors warn Zelensky to stay mum about classified info with Biden
Speaking to CNN on Tuesday, US Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville declared that when the United States cuts off aid, Ukraine is bound to face the inevitable - losing its war with Russia.
Tuberville responded to the question of Ukraine's possibility of losing amid that scenario by saying that he personally “never thought they can win to begin with,” given how the US “eased into” the conflict.
