Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Aug 8 (Reuters) – The United States will send $5.5 billion in additional aid to Ukraine, consisting of $4.5 billion in fiscal support and $1 billion in military aid, to help it deal with its unrest this year’s Russian invasion. The $4.5 billion budget grant will fund urgent government needs, including payments for pensions, social welfare and health care costs, bringing total U.S. budget aid to Ukraine to $8.5 billion since Russia’s February invasion, it said the US Agency for International Development. The funding, coordinated with the U.S. Treasury through the World Bank, will go to the Ukrainian government in installments, starting with a $3 billion disbursement in August, USAID said. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register It follows earlier transfers of $1.7 billion in July and $1.3 billion in June, USAID said. Washington has also provided billions of dollars in military and security support. The $1 billion weapons package announced by the Pentagon is the largest single military package under President Joe Biden’s withdrawal authority, including long-range missiles and armored medical transport vehicles It includes up to 50 armored medical vehicles and M113 ammunition for the US-supplied HIMARS long-range missile launchers and the NASAMS surface-to-air missile system. read more The fiscal and military aid packages – both first reported by Reuters on Monday – come on top of a $40 billion aid package for Ukraine approved by Congress in May. read more In total, the United States has contributed more than $18 billion to Ukraine this year.
POVERTY IN UKRAINE IS GROWING
The new budget funds are to help the Ukrainian government maintain essential functions, including social and economic assistance for the growing poor population, children with disabilities and the millions of internally displaced people, as the war continues. Ukrainian officials estimate that the country faces a budget deficit of $5 billion a month – or 2.5% of pre-war gross domestic product – due to the cost of the war and reduced tax revenues. Economists say this will increase Ukraine’s annual deficit to 25% of GDP, compared to 3.5% before the conflict. 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, up from 2.5% before the war began. USAID said U.S. budget support enabled the Ukrainian government to keep gas and electricity flowing to hospitals, schools and other critical infrastructure and to deliver emergency humanitarian supplies to civilians. The funds have also paid for health workers, teachers and other civil servants. USAID reported that strong safeguards were put in place by the World Bank, along with USAID-funded third-party custodians embedded within the Ukrainian government to ensure that funds are directed where they are intended to go. “This financial assistance is critical to supporting the Ukrainian people as they defend their democracy against Russia’s unprovoked war of aggression,” said US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. The injection of fresh cash for Ukraine comes as the war, which Russia calls “a special military operation,” stretches into its sixth month, with millions of Ukrainians displaced and authorities warning of possible gas shortages in the winter. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Reporting by Andrea Shalal, Idrees Ali and Mike Stone. Additional reporting by David Lawder Editing by Heather Timmons and Howard Goller Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. Idrees Ali Thomson Reuters National Security Correspondent focusing on the Pentagon in Washington Reports on US military activity and operations around the world and their impact. It has been reported from over 22 countries including Iraq, Afghanistan and much of the Middle East, Asia and Europe. From Karachi, Pakistan.
