The United States authorities intend to send about $1.5 billion a month to Ukraine to support the work of the government, Dereck Hogan, the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, said.
He said at a seminar at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington they had already allocated $1 billion for these purposes through various mechanisms and intended to send about $1.5 billion more monthly during 4-5 months.
The official noted that direct support for Ukrainian authorities is one of the priorities of the administration of President Joe Biden.
He said that the US should take into account the medium and long term, and now the US efforts should be focused on ensuring the work of the government of Ukraine.
The United States and NATO allies are continuing massive arms and ammunition deliveries to Ukraine. Mykhailo Podoliak, the adviser to the head of the Ukrainian President Office’s, said earlier that Kyiv would like to receive 300 multiple launch rocket systems from the West.
At the same time, US officials, both former and incumbent, warn of the need to establish control over the use of aid provided by the United States to Kyiv.
The UK and Polish governments were the main suppliers of medical assistance to Ukraine in the past week, the press service of the Health Ministry of Ukraine has said.
The ministry said that the UK government and the Strategic Reserves Agency of Poland were the major suppliers.
The Health Ministry also noted assistance of the Embassy of Bulgaria in Ukraine, the Direct Relief international humanitarian aid organization, the Kyiv School of Economics Charitable Foundation, the Center of Volunteering and Protection charitable organization, One Ukraine, and Americares global non-profit organization.
The ministry reported that it received six ambulance vehicles, 1,000 packs of hemostatic gauze, 125 patient monitors, 7.5 tonnes of antibacterial agents, 153.5 tonnes of various medicines, 26.5 tonnes of drugs for Covid-19, 60 tonnes of personal protective equipment, and 5 tonnes of syringes from volunteers and partner countries over last week.
Ankara is awaiting a response from Moscow on organizing a possible meeting between Turkey, Russia, Ukraine and the UN to discuss the issue of exporting grain from Ukraine, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Saturday.
“Our position was stated very clearly. We are awaiting a response from the Russian side, both on the issue of holding the meeting and other details,” the Anadolu agency quotes him as saying.
“We stressed the Turkish side’s readiness to organize a quadripartite meeting in the UN-Turkey-Ukraine-Russia format. This is ultimately a UN initiative,” the minister said.
Cavusoglu said that during talks this week with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, he explained that the UN plan to transport grain from Ukraine by sea is the best.
Earlier this week, the Turkish Foreign Minister said that Ankara considers the UN plan to export grain from Ukraine feasible. He noted that discussions are underway on the creation of a “grain corridor” mechanism in the Black Sea with the participation of the UN, Russia, Ukraine and Turkey.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky expressed gratitude to the governments of Western countries and international organizations for financial support to Ukraine.
“I am grateful to the government of Britain, the leadership of the World Bank, the government of Canada for taking new steps in financial support for Ukraine,” he said in a video statement on the night of Friday to Saturday.
He said “the day before, our state received $1.5 billion: $1 billion from the World Bank, another $500 million from the UK. It is direct budget support.”
“We use it to pay wages in the public sector. Canada was the first country to send funds to our administrative account with the IMF, this is CAD 1 billion,” he said.
President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen said she had arrived in Kyiv and intended to meet with President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky.
“Good to be back in Kyiv. With President Volodymyr Zelensky I will take stock of the joint work needed for reconstruction and of the progress made by Ukraine on its European path,” she said on Twitter.
Ukraine and Moldova agreed to deepen cooperation in the field of food safety, as well as expand the list of permitted commodity items for export to Moldova, in particular, for pigs and composite products.
Relevant agreements were reached during a meeting between the head of the State Service of Ukraine on Food Safety and Consumer Protection, Anatoliy Vovniuk, and Ambassador of the Republic of Moldova to Ukraine Valeriu Chiveri, according to the website of the Ukrainian department.
According to the Food Safety and Consumer Protection Service, as of today, 18 forms of veterinary certificates for export from Ukraine to Moldova have been agreed between the countries.
“During the Russian military aggression against the Ukrainian people, the support of friendly countries is extremely important for our state,” Vovniuk said.
