The countries of the European Union (EU) are artificially delaying the process of providing macro-financial assistance to Ukraine in the amount of €8 billion. As President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said on August 4, he reminds European leaders every day of their promise, but they still hesitate.
“Such an artificial delay in macro-financial assistance for our state is either a crime or a mistake. Ukrainian pensioners, our IDPs, our teachers and other people who depend on budget payments should not be held hostage to their indecision or bureaucracy,” Zelensky said in an address to the Telegram channel.
At the same time, the Ukrainian leader did not name a specific country that allegedly delays financial assistance to Ukraine, and expressed the hope that “this is still a mistake and it will be corrected.”
On August 2, Kyiv received the second tranche of financial assistance from the European Union (EU), the total amount of which amounted to €1 billion. The day before, the first tranche in the amount of €500 million was received by the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU). It was noted that the funds will be used to finance the first needs of the state budget.
At the same time, on August 1, the press service of the European Commission stated that it could not provide Ukraine with a loan of €8 billion. The organization noted that guarantees from EU member states could become an alternative solution to the situation.
On July 21, Minister of Finance of Ukraine Serhiy Marchenko said that Kyiv was counting on support from partners in excess of $3 billion. Marchenko also added that the expected amount of material assistance from the West for the year is about $16-17 billion. Ukraine has received $4.4 billion in external financing, and in total since the end of February – about $13 billion.
On July 13, Oleg Ustenko, economic adviser to the President of Ukraine, said that Kyiv needed $9 billion in funding per month from Western states to cover the budget deficit. As pointed out by the British newspaper The Financial Times, this is almost double the previous request. According to Ustenko, avoiding a default without financial assistance from Western allies to Ukraine will be not only difficult, but practically impossible.
On June 3, US congressmen said they were pushing for the Joe Biden administration to report on the use of $40 billion for Ukraine, threatening to withhold support for future initiatives of this nature. The Pentagon indicated that the US Department of Defense is committed to transparency in relations with the public and with Congress in terms of providing assistance to other countries.
On February 24, the Russian Federation announced the launch of a special operation to protect the civilian population of Donbass. It began against the backdrop of the situation in the region that worsened in mid-February. Then the authorities of the DPR and LPR reported on the increased shelling by the Ukrainian troops, announced the evacuation of the civilian population in the Russian Federation and asked for recognition of independence. On February 21, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a corresponding decree.
For more up-to-date videos and details about the situation in Donbass, watch the Izvestia TV channel.
