International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva has announced the creation of the Ukraine Capacity Development Fund (UCDF) to provide technical assistance with a budget of $65 million over five years, and the Netherlands, Japan, Lithuania and Slovakia have become its first contributors for a total of $14.5 million.
“We are looking for $65 million over five years to expand (Ukraine’s) capacity development in the priority sectors supported by the IMF program. I am pleased to announce that donors have already pledged contributions of approximately $14.5 million. I am confident in your support for this initiative,” Georgieva said after a ministerial roundtable on Ukraine, which took place as part of the annual meetings of the IMF and the World Bank, which ended on Sunday in Marrakech.
It is specified that the Netherlands’ contribution to the fund amounted to $7 million.
The official event to launch the fund on the sidelines of the IMF and WB meetings was attended by IMF First Deputy Managing Director Gita Gopinath, Finance Minister Sergii Marchenko, NBU Governor Andriy Pyshnyi and his deputy Sergii Nikolaychuk, as well as representatives of the four countries.
“These contributions will support the efforts of the Ukrainian authorities to stabilize macroeconomic conditions and restore the post-war economy while implementing comprehensive reforms that are consistent with Ukraine’s EU accession goals,” the IMF said in a statement announcing the creation of the UCDF.
Pyshny thanked the IMF for launching the new fund. He emphasized the importance of international financial assistance for Ukraine, reforming the Ukrainian economy, and strengthening the institutional capacity of the authorities.
Capacity Development Fund, JAPAN, LITHUANIA, NETHERLANDS, SLOVAKIA
The Supreme Court of the Netherlands upheld the decision of the previous court in the case on the fate of the “Scythian gold” from the collection of museums of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and decided to transfer it to Ukraine, follows from the message on the website of the court.
“In October 2021, the Court of Appeal ruled that the collection should be transferred to Ukraine. This decision remains in force. That’s what the Supreme Court ruled today,” the message says.
As reported, the exhibition “Crimea. Golden Island in the Black Sea”, representing the collection of Scythian gold jewelry, was formed in the Allard Pearson Museum from the collections of five museums, one of which is located in Kiev, four – in Crimea. After the occupation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, which occurred after the opening of the exhibition, the question arose as to whom to return the collection – 565 museum items with a total insured value of EUR 10 million.
After the occupation, the Russian Federation claimed its rights to the part of the collection belonging to the Crimean museums. Ukraine, in turn, said that the exhibits cannot be returned to the occupied territory, which is temporarily not under Ukrainian control, and must be transferred directly to the state of Ukraine.
In December 2016, the District Administrative Court of Amsterdam recognized Ukraine’s rights to the collection and ordered it transferred to Kiev. In October 2021, the Court of Appeal of Amsterdam confirmed the decision of the court of first instance. After that, in January 2022, “Crimean museums” filed a cassation against the decision of the Court of Appeal.
The Netherlands is likely to send F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine after pilot training, Bloomberg reported Friday, citing its own sources familiar with the matter.
“The Netherlands currently has 42 F-16 fighter jets in service, 24 of which are currently used by the Dutch army and cannot be sent to Ukraine until mid-2024. A dozen of the other 18 aircraft were to have been sold to Draken International (an American limited liability company – IF), but the government postponed handing over the planes in December without explanation, citing commercial confidentiality. Although a final decision on the deployment has not yet been made, Ukraine may receive some of the aircraft for sale or some of the 24 aircraft currently in service next year, depending on the training schedule,” the report says.
The publication stresses that the Netherlands maintains the airworthiness of all its F-16s through regular maintenance.
A spokeswoman for the Dutch defense ministry said Thursday that the government would consider a possible F-16 delivery to Ukraine at a later date, adding that pilot training is now a priority. Meanwhile, the Netherlands, along with Denmark, is now leading a coalition to train Ukrainian pilots with support from Britain and Belgium.
“According to one source, the Dutch government is already studying and discussing possible deployment plans with its allies. Despite the Dutch government’s willingness to help strengthen Ukraine’s air defense as soon as possible, pilot training, deployment planning and logistics could take many months,” the publication writes.
According to the Dutch Defense Ministry, as of today the Netherlands has provided Ukraine with about EUR1.6bn of military assistance since the start of the Russian invasion, including EUR732m worth of equipment.
The Netherlands will provide Ukrainian farmers with EUR10 million for the demining of agricultural land and EUR40 million for the purchase of seeds and agricultural equipment as part of a total package of EUR180 million in aid to Ukraine, members of the Dutch Parliament’s Agriculture Committee said at a meeting in the Verkhovna Rada.
“We would welcome the Netherlands’ assistance in demining to speed up this process. After all, this is one of the most pressing problems of farmers, especially in the southern and eastern regions,” said Oleksandr Haidu, head of the Parliamentary Committee on Agrarian and Land Policy.
He suggested paying attention to projects to restore and modernize irrigation and drainage systems, expanding new logistics routes with the EU to help Ukrainian farmers export agricultural products.
Two dry cargo ships carrying corn and barley departed Ukrainian ports on Monday, the Joint Coordination Center (JCC) reported.
“Two ships left Ukrainian ports on January 23, carrying a total of 42,560 tons of grain and other food as part of the Black Sea Grain Initiative,” the report said.
Dry cargo ship Amyntor will deliver 27 260 tons of corn to the Netherlands, ship Ata will carry 15.3 thousand tons of barley to Israel.
Seven ships are also headed to Ukrainian ports, which on Monday passed through the maritime humanitarian corridor.
“As of January 23, the total tonnage of grain and other agricultural products exported from the three Ukrainian ports is 18,372,920 tons. A total of 1,340 vessels have so far been allowed to move: 667 to arrive at Ukrainian ports and 673 to leave them,” the JCC summarized.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said that the Netherlands decided to allocate EUR2.5 billion as aid to Ukraine.
“Had an important conversation with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte. Thanked him for the decision to allocate 2.5 billion euros to help Ukraine fight the aggressor,” Zelensky wrote in Telegram on Friday.
“We appreciate the support of the Netherlands! And further work together to strengthen defense capabilities, energy sustainability, the restoration of critical infrastructure,” the head of state added.
