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assistance from the EU is due to the internal issues of the European Union, said EU Ambassador to Ukraine Matti Maasikas. These issues concern the EU's credit portfolio and obligations. The EU states also discussed how they should provide guarantees for providing this loan to Ukraine and which member states should bear what percentage of the burden. According to Maasikas, the discussions are ongoing specifically because of the provision of more grants to Ukraine. "Macro-financial aid is essentially a very cheap loan. But it is still a loan. Therefore, there are also those in the EU who say that we should provide more aid in the form of grants. But I hope these discussions end soon," said the ambassador.
Ukraine will receive $775M in military aid from the US. US President Joe Biden has signed a decree to provide Ukraine with $775M for defence as well as military education and training, announced the White House. The US Department of Defense revealed that the package will include additional HIMARS ammunition, 16 105-mm howitzers, and 36,000 shells for them. Moreover, it will consist of 15 Scan Eagle drones, dozens of anti-mine vehicles, additional high-speed anti-radiation missiles, and anti-tank weapons consisting of 1,500 TOW and 1,000 Javelin missiles, along with night vision equipment. The Pentagon added that during Biden's presidency, the US has allocated about $10.6B in security assistance to Ukraine.
The US will allocate $4.5B in additional financing for Ukraine. The World Bank Group today announced $4.5B in additional financing mobilised for Ukraine under the Public Expenditures for Administrative Capacity Endurance in Ukraine (PEACE), reported the World Bank. The project is designed to help the Government of Ukraine meet urgent needs created by the ongoing war. The financing package consists of a $4.5B grant provided by the US. The additional financing will help the Government of Ukraine to cover social payments, healthcare services, and pensions, which are essential for the well-being of the country’s citizens and mitigating the social and economic impact of the war.
Northern European countries agree to allocate 1.5 billion euros to support Ukraine. Danish Defence Minister Morten Bodskov said at a donor conference in Copenhagen that the funds can be spent on weapons and military training. The participants of the conference also agreed that Iceland would spearhead a demining project in Ukraine. “The struggle of Ukraine is our struggle,” Bodskov said.
The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) received the first tranche of €500mn from the European Union as part of a €1bn macro-financial assistance package, the Kyiv Independent reported on August 1. Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said that the second tranche is expected on August 2. The €1bn is part of a larger package of support for Ukraine that totals €9bn. However, despite the larger package being approved by the European Council on June 24, the money has been slow to materialise. As a result, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskiy asked his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron to unlock the rest of the macro-financial assistance, European Pravda reported on August 1.
President ZelenskIy’s office claimed on August 3 that Germany and other countries have blocked €8B of macro-finance. The statement was made by the president's adviser, Ihor Zhovkva, at a briefing on Tuesday. He added that regarding the €8B, "Unfortunately, certain states of the European Union, in
45 UKRAINE Country Report September 2022 www.intellinews.com