$9.9 billion in direct budget support

The United States will provide Ukraine with $9.9 billion in direct budget support in 2023. This was announced by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy following US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s meeting with the Ukrainian Head of State, held in Kiev on 27 February.
Zelenskyyy hailed the aid Washington is providing to Kiev, repelling a large-scale military aggression from Russia.
“Thank you very much for your support. The United States has strongly supported us since the first days of this war, not only with weapons, but also financially. We really appreciate it,” the Ukrainian president stressed.
He noted the decision announced by the Biden administration on February 24 to allocate $9.9 billion to Ukraine in 2023 as direct budget support.
The Ukrainian leader stressed that these funds are extremely important, as they allow to cover the non-guaranteed part of the state budget and support the most needy segments of the population.
During the meeting, attention was paid to the current interaction between Ukraine and the IMF and the prospects for implementing the fund’s programs.
The question of restoring the Ukrainian infrastructure destroyed as a result of Russian aggression was discussed separately. Zelenskyyy noted the need for tougher sanctions to deprive Russia of the ability to finance the war.
The Ukrainian government announced that the country had received the first tranche of $1.25 billion on Monday, February 27.
“This year Ukraine’s budget deficit is about $38 billion. The United States has pledged to provide Ukraine with over ten billion dollars by September. In addition, the United States supports Ukraine towards a rapid recovery. Namely, we have allocated $1.5 billion for these purposes, and another $1.1 billion to support the rapid recovery of the energy sector in Ukraine and Moldova,” said Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal. after a meeting with Janet Yellen.
The government portal also publishes data according to which, as of February 24, 2022, Ukraine received thirteen billion dollars in subsidies for the United States budget.
According to the Prime Minister of Ukraine, an important point of joint work is the creation of the multi-donor financial coordination platform. This structure will effectively coordinate the work of the G7 countries and all international financial organizations, including the IMF and the World Bank, on financial support for Ukraine, as well as other related issues.
Ukrainian Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko, who attended Janet Yellen’s meeting with the Ukrainian Prime Minister, expressed his gratitude to the US government for its unwavering support for Ukraine.
“Thanks to the attracted financing, we are still able to maintain the stability of the functioning of the system of public administration and ensure priority social spending from the state budget,” Marchenko said.
The US Treasury Secretary reaffirmed the message conveyed by President Joe Biden: the United States will support Ukraine for as long as it takes to win.
Anti-Corruption Statement
Recall that on January 22, Zelenskyyy made a statement about the unacceptability of corruption in the country and promised to take a number of key decisions to counter it. The Ukrainian president’s statement comes amid allegations of corruption among senior Ukrainian leaders, including reports of questionable military purchases.
“I want to make it clear that there will be no going back to what was in the past, to the way people close to state power or those who have chased a chair all their lives” , Zelenskyyy said in an evening video message on January 22.
Multiple funding sources
Political analyst Boris Kushniruk notes that today it is mainly about financing the state budget deficit.
“For this year, Ukraine has conditionally agreed that the deficit will be around $38 billion. We have to receive these funds from various sources,” Kushniruk told the media Russian Service correspondent.
Every month this year, he said, the EU intends to allocate $1.5 billion; ten billion dollars which the government intends to attract in the form of an IMF tranche.
“The United States has confirmed aid of ten billion dollars, which means that in general it is just such an amount that can cover the budget deficit”, underlines the analyst.
He considers that one of the important tasks is not only to cover the budget deficit for this year, but also to negotiate funds for the restoration and working capacity of the economy in -war period.
“We must take into account the fact and the process of rebuilding the country. To do this, we will need financial assistance from Western partners, not just this year. Under the most optimal circumstances, if the active phase of hostilities ends this year, then we will have a budget deficit for several more years. As a result, funding will be needed in the form of grant aid, as well as in the form of loans,” notes the political scientist.
Supporting the hryvnia exchange rate and fighting corruption
Economist Oleksiy Luponosov notes that the money provided should be used to support the Ukrainian currency.
“In order to maintain the hryvnia and ensure the deficit that exists in the internal foreign currency market, these funds are enough. But in general, to support the budget of a belligerent country, to pay the salaries of the military, to buy for the needs of the army and other needs, this is the minimum amount, ”says Luponosov.
He notes that before the war, the National Bank attracted an average of $2-3 billion in loan funds per year. Western partners of Ukraine, providing assistance, according to Luponosov, take into account not only the economic situation in the country, but also the facts of corruption, restrictions on freedom of expression.
“This corruption case must be dealt with. The National Anti-Corruption Bureau still does not have a head, there is an acting one – and this is an important body in the fight against this phenomenon. We must restore freedom of expression, not to mention the necessary military censorship, but all over the world journalists cover economic, social and public issues, the lives of ordinary people. But it seems that in Ukraine the press has taken a short break for the moment, and this should not be the case even during the war”, is convinced the Ukrainian analyst.