As of November 24, the volume of financing actually allocated to Ukraine by international partners since the beginning of the war to cover the state budget deficit totaled $25.731 billion, and another $1 billion – for reconstruction, or 71% of the declared aid totaling $37.581 billion, the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine reports.
According to the data published on its website, grants accounted for less than half of the received funds – $10.49 billion, or 39.2%.
A month earlier, as of October 26, the funding was $23.123 billion to cover the budget deficit and $1 billion for reconstruction, or 65% of the announced aid for a total of $36.959 billion, and the grants were the same.
As indicated by the Ministry of Finance, the largest support to Ukraine was announced by the U.S. and the European Union – respectively, $12.99 billion and $11.5 billion. The U.S. allocated $8.49 billion, or 65%, of this amount, all in the form of grants, the EU – $7.367 billion, or 64%, of which only $626 million in the form of grants.
According to the table, the five largest donors of pledged aid are close to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), European Investment Bank (EIB) and Canada – $2.71 billion, $2.32 billion and $2.021 billion respectively. The IMF has allocated all the funds, while the EIB and Canada – $1.72 billion and $1.521 billion respectively, all as loans. At the same time, the EIB is so far the only one that has provided financing for the recovery.
Next comes the World Bank, Germany and Britain – $1.765 billion, $1.373 billion and $1.076 billion, respectively, of which Germany and Britain provided $1.049 billion and $128 million in grants respectively. These countries have allocated all the pledged funds, while the WB only 56%.
The donor to Ukraine’s budget of over $500 million since the start of the war is also Japan – $581 million: these funds have already been received, and all in the form of loans.
France announced support for the Ukrainian budget of $432 million, of which it received 77%, while Italy and the Netherlands gave $332 million and $330 million, respectively (of which Italy gave $125 million in grants). Italy has already provided all the funds, while the Netherlands has so far allocated one-third – $106 million.
Another nine countries have pledged a total of $172.5 million, of which $149.5 million has already been received, including $80.5 million in the form of grants. Sweden and Denmark are the largest: $49 million and $53 million, respectively, but Denmark has so far given only $53 million, but all in the form of grants.
The Ministry of Finance also pointed out that since the beginning of the war, the National Bank of Ukraine has covered the budget deficit by 355 billion UAH, or $11.246 billion in equivalent, through direct purchase of war bonds.
The monthly need to finance the state budget deficit this year because of the war, according to the Ministry of Finance and the government, is about $5 billion. Next year, the government plans to reduce the state budget deficit by $3-4 billion a month (a total of $38 billion for the year), counting on its financing by the United States, IMF and EU, and intends to raise $17 billion for emergency reconstruction.
Emission financing through the purchase of government bonds by the National Bank in the approved state budget-2023 has not yet been included, although such an option, as noted by Finance Minister Sergei Marchenko, remains. The NBU also admitted that next year the emission financing may still be needed, but insisted that its volume should not exceed 200 billion hryvnias per year.
The State Service of Geology and Subsoil of Ukraine has signed a memorandum of technical assistance with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), head of the State Geology Service Roman Opimakh said on his Facebook page on Wednesday.
“The document provides for work on digitization of secondary geological information, the development of IT architecture and the functionality of the State Geology Portal,” Opimakh wrote.
The memorandum was signed with EBRD First Vice President Jürgen Rigterink as part of the Raw Materials Week, which is taking place in Brussels with the support of the European Commission and the Ministry of Natural Resources of Ukraine. The signing took place in the presence of the Vice President of the European Commission Maroš Šefčovič and the Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine Ruslan Strilets.
According to the document, the EBRD is the executor, the State Geology Service is the key beneficiary, and specialists of the State Research and Development Enterprise State Geological Information Fund of Ukraine (Geoinform of Ukraine) are the contractors of the project, the head of Ukraine’s Geology Service noted.
“The work is designed for three years and provides for the purchase of equipment and the arrangement of a server room in the first half of 2023 – ventilation, physical access, uninterrupted power supply,” Opimakh informed.
Also next year, at least 20,000 geological information storage units will be digitized and published on the State Geology Portal in accordance with the best world practices.
“The implementation of the project will not only digitize and place secondary geological information in the public domain, but also significantly improve the interface for searching geological reports through interactive maps that will be posted on the State Geology Portal,” the head emphasized.
At the same time, the translation of abstracts, reports and an English-language search engine will become convenient tools for foreign investors interested in the development of Ukrainian subsoil.
According to Opimakh, the key objectives of the project are, in particular, digitization of at least 60,000 units of storage of geological reports, the development of IT infrastructure, the creation of English-language services of databases for managing geological information, the arrangement of a server room, as well as the development of the functionality of the State Geology Portal by creating sets of geological maps and cartographic services of the geological knowledge of the territory of Ukraine.
“The next step will be the signing of an agreement on the provision of technical assistance and the coordination of parameters for the volume and time of work,” the head said.
US President Joe Biden has asked Congress to allocate an additional $37.7 billion in aid to Ukraine, AP reported.
The information notes that $21.7 billion is defense aid to continue providing Ukraine with equipment and restocking the Defense Department.
The Biden administration is asking for $14.5 billion for humanitarian aid and support for the functioning of the Ukrainian government, as well as $900 million for health care and support services for Ukrainians living in the United States, and $626 million to support Ukrainian nuclear security and modernize the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
The 42nd US President Bill Clinton said that Ukraine will receive even more support.
“I don’t speak for the government, I don’t work there, but I can say on behalf of the United States and the whole world that you will receive even more support,” he said on Tuesday, answering a question from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during the Global Clinton Initiative .
“People see your courage and your people. People understand that we cannot change democracy, freedom and independence. I believe that we will help and follow. You will turn to us for help, and we will be proud to help you,” he said.
British Prime Minister Liz Truss will announce during a trip to the United States this week that London intends to spend at least $2.6 billion to support Ukraine in 2023, the Financial Times reports.
On her first trip abroad as prime minister, Liz Truss will tell world leaders that Britain will spend same $2.6 billion in Ukraine next year as it did in 2022, or even more, the publication writes.
Truss is expected to speak at the UN General Assembly on Wednesday. The prime minister is also scheduled to hold talks with U.S. President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron.
Downing Street previously stated that the UK ranks second in the world in terms of military aid provided to Ukraine. In particular, the Financial Times reminds, London handed over hundreds of missiles, five air defense systems, 120 armored vehicles, tens of thousands of artillery shells to Kyiv. Also, since 2015, the British have trained 27,000 Ukrainian servicemen.
2,740 farmers from Ukraine have already applied for participation in the program financed by the budgetary support of the European Union through the State Agrarian Register (SAR), according to the website of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food on Friday.
Farmers with a land bank of 1 to 120 hectares (with payment of up to 3.1 thousand UAH/ha), and owners of 3 to 100 cows (with payment of up to 5, 3 thousand UAH/head).
According to the Ministry of Agrarian Policy, a total of 2,299 applications were submitted for payments in the first direction, and 437 in the second.
The agency recalled that the acceptance of applications for assistance in the two above areas will last until November 15, 2022.
At the same time, only agricultural producers registered in the GAR and meeting its criteria can be participants in the program. Currently, 11,000 users have already registered with the GAR, who can access information about existing state support programs in real time and apply for it online.
As reported, GAR is an automated electronic system available to all agricultural producers, regardless of the form of management. With the help of the registry, it is planned to provide public services, simplify access to bank financing and loan guarantee programs, as well as introduce targeted government support programs and evaluate their effectiveness.
The project is being implemented in coordination with the State Geocadastre, the Ministry of Justice and with the assistance of the World Bank and EU project “Support for transparent land management in Ukraine”, as well as the USAID Agricultural and Rural Development Program.
In the last three years, the EU has been supporting the introduction of GAR in Ukraine. With technical and financial assistance from the EU, the government has developed the software and carried out two pilot implementations ahead of a nationwide launch in August 2022.
