WASHINGTON, Oct 25 – The World Bank said on Monday it had disbursed an additional $500 million to help Ukraine meet urgent spending needs created by the February 24 Russian invasion and the ongoing war.
The financing from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the bank’s main lending arm, was supported by $500 million in UK loan guarantees that were announced on September 30, the bank said.
It comes on the eve of a recovery conference in Berlin on Tuesday, where national leaders, development experts and CEOs will discuss how to rebuild Ukraine after the Russian invasion, which began eight months ago.
“The Russian invasion continues to cause massive destruction of Ukraine’s infrastructure – including water, sanitation and electricity networks – just as winter approaches, further endangering the Ukrainian population,” said the Group’s chairman. of the World Bank, David Malpass, in a statement.
“The new part of the funding disbursed today will be used to maintain essential government services. We stand firm to support the Ukrainian people as they face this unprecedented crisis.”
The World Bank has mobilized a total of $13 billion in emergency financing for Ukraine, of which $11.4 billion has been fully delivered.
The Russian invasion caused more than $97 billion in direct damage to Ukraine as of June 1, but it could cost almost $350 billion to rebuild the country, according to the World Bank, the Ukrainian government and the European Commission in a report published online. September.
Moscow has described its actions as a special military operation to rid its neighbor of extremists.