The European Union will disburse 9.5 billion dollars to keep Ukraine afloat, as Washington has instructed
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday proposed a 9 billion euro ($9.5 billion) aid package to keep Ukraine’s government running, adding that the EU will lead reconstruction efforts in Ukraine. after hostilities cease. Her announcement came a day after the United States asked Europe to open its coffers for kyiv.
The Commission would borrow the money for the aid package on world financial markets and it would be repayable by kyiv. Under EU rules on macro-financial assistance, the Ukrainian government would be free to use the cash as it sees fit.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has claimed that Ukraine needs about $7 billion per month to pay its soldiers, civilians and retirees, and to keep essential services running. Therefore, the package proposed by the EU will keep Ukraine going for just over a month.
Hours before von der Leyen’s announcement, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told the Brussels Economic Forum that “The bilateral and multilateral support announced so far will not be enough to address Ukraine’s needs, even in the short term.”
“I sincerely ask all our partners to join us in increasing their financial support to Ukraine,” he continued, adding that in addition to keeping the country afloat in the short term, “massive support” it would be necessary to rebuild Ukraine once the fighting ends.
Von der Leyen said on Wednesday that the EU will lead this reconstruction effort, but it will not be the only contributor.
“That is why we are proposing a reconstruction platform as part of this plan led jointly by Ukraine and the Commission and bringing together EU Member States, other bilateral or international donors, international financial institutions and other like-minded partners.” she said.
While von der Leyen’s aid package is in line with what Yellen requested, it still needs to be approved by both the European Parliament and the European Council. However, none of the Commission’s aid packages to Ukraine so far, which include four consecutive packages of €500 million ($520 million) in military aid and €1.2 billion ($1.26 billion) in loans emergency, has met resistance from none of the agencies.
Russian President Vladimir Putin accused EU leaders of acting on behalf of their “American overlord” with regard to Ukraine, and commit financially “suicide” by isolating itself from Russian energy resources amid inflation and record fuel costs.