LAST UPDATE: 20:29
The United States will send an additional $4.5 billion in financial aid to Ukraine to cover fiscal needs of the Zelenskyi government, bringing the total amount of fiscal support it has provided to the Ukrainian government since Russia’s influx in February to 8.5 billion dollars, as announced on Monday by the American Organization for International Development.
The funding, which will be provided through the World Bank in coordination with the US Treasury Department, will be provided to the Ukrainian government in installments, with the first disbursement of $3 billion expected in August, according to the US Organization for International Development.
The Organization recalls that it was preceded by the sending of financial aid amounting to 1.3 billion dollars in June and an additional 1.7 billion dollars in July, as reported by Reuters.
The agency also notes that Washington, in addition to financial aid, has also provided military aid to Ukraine amounting to billions of dollars, and is planning another package of military equipment worth $1 billion soon.
U.S. funds are intended to help the Ukrainian government maintain the continuation of its core functions, including social and economic assistance to Ukrainians experiencing economic hardship, children with disabilities, and the millions of internally displaced people, as the war with Russia continues.
Ukrainian officials estimate that the country faces a budget deficit of $5 billion a month – or 2.5% of pre-war GDP – due to the cost of the war and declining tax revenues. Economists say this will increase Ukraine’s annual deficit to 25% of GDP, compared to 3.5% before the Russian invasion.
Meanwhile, the World Bank estimates that 55% of Ukrainians will live in poverty by the end of 2023 as a result of the war and the large number of displaced people, compared to just 2.5% before the war began.
According to the US Agency for International Development, US financial support has enabled the Ukrainian government to keep gas and electricity flowing to hospitals, schools and other critical infrastructure and to provide urgent humanitarian aid to its citizens.
The funds have also been used to pay the salaries of health workers, teachers and other civil servants.
Finally, the Agency said that strong safeguards have been put in place by the World Bank and independent monitors that the Agency has embedded with the Ukrainian government to ensure that the funds go where they are intended.
New $1 billion military hardware package
At the same time, Pentagon spokesman Todd Brasill announced on Monday that the US will provide a new $1 billion military aid package to Ukraine, which will include ammunition for long-range weapons and armored medical vehicles.
This is the largest package that has been approved directly by the American president, Joe Biden, as part of the authority that gives him his office.
The new package adds to the roughly $8.8 billion in military aid the US has provided to Ukraine since Russia’s invasion of the country began on February 24.
More specifically, the package includes ammunition for the HIMARS and NASAMS surface-to-air missile systems and up to 50 M113 armored medical transports.
