Germany will provide Ukraine with an additional 200m euros to support education, the health care system and drinking water supply, as well as reconstruction of cities.
This was announced by the German government’s commissioner for Ukraine’s reconstruction, Jochen Flasbart, during his visit to Ukraine, Deutsche Welle (Deutsche Welle) reported citing DPA.
According to the Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development in Berlin, Germany has allocated about 1.1 billion euros to support civilians since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
On October 20, Flasbart announced on social network X that he had arrived in Kiev together with German Federal Minister for the Environment Steffi Lemke.
US President Joseph Biden’s administration is preparing to announce a new arms package for Ukraine next week, Reuters reports.
“The composition of the next arms aid package is still under development and is due to be unveiled on Wednesday at the 16th meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group in Brussels, where security assistance will be a key topic, officials said. The amount of aid is expected to be about $200 million and may include ammunition and ground equipment similar to those in recent aid packages,” the report said.
It is noted that the US Department of Defense continues to spend funds identified as a result of a multibillion-dollar accounting error. These funds have allowed the Biden administration to send weapons, materials, and ammunition to Kyiv, despite the fact that new aid to Ukraine was excluded from the temporary spending bill passed by the House of Representatives last weekend to prevent a government shutdown. However, the Pentagon still has approximately $5.4 billion available under the Presidential Decision Authority (PDA) granted by Congress, after the Pentagon revealed in June that an accounting error had overstated the cost of arms delivered to Ukraine by $6.2 billion.
In addition, Biden is asking Congress to approve another $24 billion for Ukraine, which supporters of aid to Ukraine, both Republicans and Democrats, had hoped might become law as part of the spending bill. This request has not yet been considered.
U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken will announce more than $1 billion in new aid for Ukraine during his visit to Kyiv on Wednesday, September 6, CNN reports, citing a senior State Department official.
According to CNN, the US Secretary of State arrived in Kyiv on Wednesday to meet with key Ukrainian officials, including President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.
The TV channel also notes that Blinken’s visit is an opportunity for the United States and Ukraine to unite ahead of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) later this month, a senior State Department official traveling with Blinken told reporters.
“The Ukrainians have an important mission in New York – to continue to explain to their allies and partners around the world what’s going on and their continued need for support. And it is important for us to continue to lead this global effort to support them. Being able to consult and agree before we get to New York is very, very important,” the official said.
According to media reports, Blinken arrived in Kyiv on Wednesday morning after an overnight train ride from Poland. This is his third visit to the Ukrainian capital since Russia’s full-scale invasion.
The Danish government proposes to increase aid for Ukraine’s civil needs from DKK 1.2 billion to DKK 1.5 billion next year, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reports.
“Denmark will increase the scope of assistance for the development of Ukraine, which will again become the largest recipient country of Danish aid. In the Finance Law for 2024, the government proposes to increase from DKK 1.2 billion to DKK 1.5 billion (about $43.5 million) allocated for the civil needs of Ukraine and the countries of the Eastern Neighborhood within the Ukraine Fund of Ukraine,” the Danish Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Minister for International Development and Global Climate Policy Dan Jørgensen noted that “assistance to Ukraine and the Ukrainian people is a top priority for the government.”
“Therefore, this year we again allocate a record high amount to civilian needs in order to continue to provide important support and help overcome the difficult consequences of the war. Ukraine’s recovery will be long, and the needs are huge,” the minister stressed.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs indicates that the assistance will be aimed at providing emergency assistance to the victims of the war, as well as restoring the most important infrastructure of Ukraine.
“At the request of Ukraine itself, the government has taken on special responsibility for the city of Mykolaiv and its restoration. In Mykolaiv, Denmark is helping provide better access to water and heat, as well as restoring and repairing residential areas, schools and medical facilities,” the Danish ministry notes.
In addition, Denmark will assist countries such as Georgia and Moldova by accelerating the reforms and large-scale democratization processes they face as the consequences of the Russian invasion extend to neighboring countries with Ukraine, “which are suffering from Russian influence, the reception of Ukrainian refugees and power supply problems.”
Japan will provide up to $7 billion in aid to Ukraine, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said, speaking online at the 3rd Summit of the International Crimean Platform in Kyiv.
“Japan will continuously provide (Ukraine – IF-U) with a variety of assistance in the amount of up to $7 billion, depending on the needs,” he said.
In addition, Japan will use its experience and expertise in post-war reconstruction and disaster recovery to provide assistance, he said.
Kishida reiterated that Japan has consistently supported the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, including Crimea, and will continue to work closely with the international community, particularly the G-7 countries, and join sanctions against Russia to provide continued support to Ukraine.
“I visited Kyiv and Bucha in March of this year and witnessed the tragedy with my own eyes. This confirmed my belief that Russia’s aggression against Ukraine is an extraordinary act that violates the foundations of the international order,” he said.
As Kishida emphasized, “Japan is on the side of the people of Ukraine to ensure peace and bring it back to the beautiful Ukrainian land.”
The Republic of Korea will increase military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine in 2023, Korean President Yoon Seok-yol said at a briefing after talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday in Kiev.
“Last year we provided both body armor, helmets and other necessary ammunition. We hope that this year the level of our assistance will be much higher,” he said.
According to the President, “in May, President Zelensky and I agreed to supply the necessary equipment for such purposes as, for example, humanitarian demining, and we continue to do so. The government of the Republic of Korea allocated last year 100 million dollars in support of Ukraine. This year, that support will amount to 150 million dollars.”
“We also plan to increase aid to Ukraine to rebuild the education system. Last year…we decided to help rebuild destroyed schools. Also, we would like to provide Ukraine with support for future generations through the two presidents’ scholarship,” Yoon Seok Yol said.
According to him, “the situation in Ukraine now is similar to the situation in Korea 70 years ago.” “About 70 years ago, the Republic of Korea was also illegally invaded by North Korea. About 90% of our Korean territory was occupied and we faced the threat of extinction as a state. However, thanks to our military and civilians who helped them as much as possible, we were able to stop the occupier and kick them out of our land,” the president said.
“We have familiarized ourselves with the Formula for Peace that was provided to us and we do believe that it needs to be implemented. Especially since Korea is trying to play a mediating role in peace summits and meetings of countries belonging to the so-called Global South,” the Korean president also said.
