(Washington) The World Bank on Monday announced an additional $4.5 billion in assistance for Ukraine, with funds provided by the United States, to help the government meet the “urgent needs created by the war “.
Posted at 1:23 p.m.
This additional aid should in particular enable the government and local authorities to cover social, pension or health expenditure, the World Bank said in a press release.
The aid will be disbursed in installments to the Ukrainian government, with a first disbursement of $3 billion this month, the US Treasury Department said in a separate statement.
“Ukraine needs continued government services, including health, education and social protection, to prevent further deterioration of living conditions and poverty,” said World Bank President David Malpass. , quoted in the press release.
“We are grateful to the United States and our partners for their continued support […] and for the generous grant that will greatly support the Ukrainian people,” he added.
This brings the total amount of emergency financial assistance mobilized for Ukraine by the institution to nearly $13 billion, of which more than $6.3 billion had been disbursed by the end of July.
“This economic aid is essential to support the Ukrainian people as they defend their democracy in the face of the Russian war,” commented Joe Biden’s US Treasury Secretary, Janet Yellen, quoted in the press release.
The American Pentagon, for its part, also announced on Monday a new tranche of military aid to Ukraine, for an amount of one billion dollars.
Ukraine was invaded by Russia on February 24. The war plunged the country into a deep recession and displaced millions of Ukrainians.