NEC Ukrenergo and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development signed an agreement on a EUR70mn target grant to the company from the bank’s Special Fund provided by the government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, NEC CEO Volodymyr Kudrytskyy said.
As Kudritsky explained on his Facebook, the funds will be used exclusively to purchase the equipment needed to resume the reliable operation of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.
“We are grateful to our international partners for such a high level of confidence in our company and strong support in the restoration of Ukraine’s energy system. We are now actively working with manufacturers around the world to deliver the necessary equipment as soon as possible,” said the head of Ukrenergo.
As earlier reported, at the beginning of December, NEC Ukrenergo noted that it had attracted EUR300 mln of credit funds from the EBRD, EUR150 mln of which would be allocated for the purchase of equipment necessary for substations that have been subject to massive Russian missile strikes.
The rest EUR150 mln of the EBRD loan will be used to replenish Ukrenergo’s working capital, in particular, to fulfill the company’s financial obligations in the electricity market amid the non-payments that arose in the market because of the war.
At the same time, there was also talk about attracting EUR72 million in grant funds from the Netherlands to restore networks and improve the financial stability of the company.
Google will provide a $2 million grant and its experts from Google.org Fellowship for the development of digital education in Ukraine, the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine said in a Telegram channel on Friday.
As handwriting in the Ministry of Digital Transformation, it will help Ukrainians get a new profession, learn digital literacy and find a job.
In addition, as part of a joint project with Google.org, the Ministry of Digital plans to update the platform of the national project “Dia. Digital Education.”
It is planned, in particular, to introduce elements of artificial intelligence to create an individual training plan, interactive simulators that will bring the user closer to real situations in the profession; as well as recommendations for requalification and professional development.
In addition, the platform wants to implement job searches according to direction and success in training.
“Also, the grant from Google.org involves the creation of a special educational application and the development of new educational series and projects,” said in the report of the Ministry of Information.
In addition, the functionality of the platform and educational products will be translated into English.
The team of the project “Dia. Digital Education” will work together with specialists from the Google.org Fellowship team.
Product managers, software engineers, and marketing managers from Google will help scale Project Dia. Digital Education” for six months.
The goal of the project is to help Ukraine solve the issue of unemployment among IDPs and contribute to the economic revival of the country. The partner of the project is the Eastern Europe Foundation.
Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz announced the allocation of humanitarian aid to Ukraine in the amount of $400 million, the official SPA news agency reported on Saturday following his phone talk with President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky the day before.
The Crown Prince emphasized “the Kingdom’s position of supporting everything that will contribute to de-escalation, and the Kingdom’s readiness to continue the efforts of mediation,” SPA reported.
In turn, Zelensky congratulated the crown prince for his appointment as the Prime Minister of the Kingdom, and expressed his thanks and appreciation to the Kingdom for its vote for the UNGA resolution, along with 142 other countries, condemning Russia’s decision to annex.
Ben Salman stressed that the Kingdom’s vote for the resolution emanates from its commitment to the deep rooted principles in the UN charter and international law, and its commitment to the respect of state sovereignty and the principles of good neighborliness, and resolving conflicts by peaceful means.
The President of Ukraine said the two leaders had agreed to work towards the release of Ukrainian prisoners of war held by Russian troops. The Saudi Crown Prince played a prominent role in mediating efforts in September that successfully led to the release of 10 prisoners of war, including two Americans.
Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal says that the state budget has received a $1.5 billion grant from the United States from the World Bank Trust Fund.
“The state budget received a grant in the amount of $1.5 billion. This is the last tranche of $4.5 billion from the United States from the World Bank Trust Fund,” Shmygal wrote on Twitter.
According to him, the funds will be used to reimburse budgetary expenses for pension payments and social assistance programs.
The prime minister thanked US President Joseph Biden for supporting Ukraine.
The Cabinet of Ministers approved the attraction of another grant from the United States in the amount of $4.5 billion, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said.
“The Cabinet of Ministers will approve the attraction of another grant from the United States in exchange for $4.5 billion, ” Shmyhal said at a government meeting on Tuesday.
According to the Prime Minister, this is a clear demonstration that the allies continue to help Ukraine bring victory closer.
Shmyhal said that the funds would be received through a fund created by the World Bank.
A grant from the Federal Republic of Germany in the amount of EUR1 billion went to the state budget of Ukraine, the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine reported on Friday.
“The grant funds were transferred to the state budget through a special administrative account opened by the International Monetary Fund to send money from donor countries to help Ukraine,” the ministry said in a press release.
According to him, the proceeds will be used to finance priority budget expenditures during martial law.
In total, since the beginning of the war, Ukraine has already received EUR1.3 billion from Germany to support the financial and budgetary system, the Finance Ministry said.
Earlier this week, the Treasury announced that it had received a EUR446.8 million loan from the World Bank (WB) with a UK guarantee for EUR424.6 million, a US grant of $1.3 billion through a WB multi-donor account, and a loan from Japan for the equivalent of about $500 million.
In April 2022, the IMF decided to create an administrative account for crediting funds as part of the Special Drawing Rights (SDR) from donor countries in favor of Ukraine. All funds raised using this account should be used to maintain the financial stability of Ukraine in the form of grants or credits (loans).
Germany became the second country to use this tool, after Canada, which provided a concessional loan of 1 billion Canadian dollars (the equivalent of $773 million) in the first half of June.
The government estimates the budget’s monthly deficit financing needs at $5 billion. Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko previously predicted that international financial support for Ukraine would increase to $4.8 billion in June from $1.5 billion in May, and thanks to funds received at the end of the month, it was close to this amount. According to the head of the Ministry of Finance, in July the government expects to maintain the same significant volumes of external financing as in June. In particular, the second tranche of a US grant of approximately $1.3 billion and an EU loan of EUR1 billion are expected to arrive.
