US Treasury to provide Ukraine with $500m economic aid package

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen announced Thursday that the US will provide Ukraine with a new $500 million infusion of cash to enable the Kyiv administration keep paying salaries, pensions, and providing services.

Following a meeting with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and Finance Minister Sergiy Marchenko on Wednesday, Yellen revealed the aid, saying it was important to help their government function amid the ongoing Russian aggression.

In her words, “The needs of Ukraine are urgent, and we plan to deploy this direct aid to Ukraine as soon as possible to be used on most urgent needs.”

“We know this is only the beginning of what Ukraine will need to rebuild. And I’m committed to working with Congress and with our international allies and partners to build on this support in the medium and long term.”

The money comes after another $500 million package of economic aid for Ukraine was revealed last month, and Shmyhal claimed this week that his administration requires $5 billion per month just to keep operating after the invasion decimated the country’s economy.

As conflict rages in Ukraine’s east and south, Western countries, particularly the United States, have increased aid, and the International Monetary Fund and World Bank have also increased support.

Despite billions in Western military help, which has forced Russia to refocus its offensive away from Kyiv and towards the east, President Volodymyr Zelensky has begged for more weaponry, saying Ukraine still lacks them.

The IMF has warned that the war will cause economic havoc both in Ukraine and elsewhere.

The conflict will cause the country’s economy to collapse by 35% this year, while Russia’s will fall by 8.5 percent, according to the Washington-based crisis lender, which also said this week that the war’s “seismic” effects are spreading globally, lowering global growth to 3.6 percent, nearly a point lower than first estimated in January.