World Bank approves USD 723 million support for Ukraine

Washington [US], March 8 : The World Bank on Monday approved a USD 723 million package of loans and grants for Ukraine, providing government budget support amid the all-out conflict with Russia.
The international lender approved a supplemental budget support package for Ukraine, called Financing of Recovery from Economic Emergency in Ukraine - or FREE Ukraine - for USD 489 million, the bank said in a statement.
"The package approved by the Board consists of a supplemental loan for USD 350 million and guarantees in the amount of USD 139 million and is also mobilizing grant financing of USD 134 million and parallel financing of USD 100 million, resulting in total mobilized support of USD 723 million," it added.
The fast-disbursing support will help the government provide critical services to Ukrainian people, including wages for hospital workers, pensions for the elderly, and social programs for the vulnerable, the bank statement said.
The bank informed that the initial World Bank support was increased with guarantees from the Netherlands for 80 million euros (USD 89 million equivalent) and Sweden for USD 50 million.
The World Bank has also set up a multi-donor trust fund (MDTF) to facilitate channeling grant resources from donors to Ukraine, with contributions from the UK, Denmark, Latvia, Lithuania, and Iceland in the amount of USD 134 million thus far.
The World Bank is calling for further grant contributions to the MDTF. In addition, Japan is linking USD 100 million in parallel financing to the support package.