Ukraine expects to receive the first tranche of macro-financial assistance in the amount of EUR 600 million in late March-early April, Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko has said.
“The first tranche of such assistance will amount to EUR 600 million and is unconditional. We hope to receive these funds at the end of March or beginning of April this year,” Marchenko said, speaking from the parliament rostrum during an hour of questions to the government on Friday.
“Ukraine will receive the second tranche after the parties approve short-term measures regarding the introduction of structural reforms, which the teams of the European Commission and the Ministry of Finance are currently working on,” the minister added.
He called the allocation of macro-financial assistance to Ukraine unprecedentedly fast.
“The Ministry of Finance is also negotiating with the government of Japan regarding the formation of a mechanism for involving the Japanese international cooperation agency JICA in a new ‘green’ program with the World Bank on a development policy loan, the so-called green DPL,” Serhiy Marchenko said.
He explained that the possibility of attracting from $500 million from the World Bank and up to $300 million from the Japanese government was being discussed.
Earlier, the European Parliament voted in favor of the proposal of the European Commission to provide Ukraine with new macro-financial assistance in the amount of EUR 1.2 billion.
British Secretary of State Liz Truss will make her first visit to Ukraine on Thursday, February 17, at the invitation of Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.
“The visit of the head of the British Foreign Office is aimed at deepening the strategic partnership between Ukraine and the United Kingdom, coordinating further actions to strengthen security on the European continent,” the press service of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said.
Kuleba and Truss will hold talks on joint measures to deter the Russian Federation from further aggression, practical support for Ukraine from the UK in strengthening its defense capability.
“The heads of foreign affairs agencies will discuss a wide range of issues of the strategic partnership between Ukraine and the UK in the field of security, including cybersecurity, as well as in the areas of trade and investment,” the report says.
Kuleba and Truss will hold a joint press conference online.
Japan is urgently prepared to provide support to Ukraine with a loan of at least $100 million as a sign of support for it in the conditions of the buildup of Russian troops on the Ukrainian border, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan said following a telephone conversation between Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
“Prime Minister Kishida informed that Japan is urgently prepared to provide support with a loan of at least $100 million based on the request of the Ukrainian side, and President Zelensky expressed deep gratitude for this,” the Japanese Foreign Ministry said in a report on the website after the February 15 conversation.
Japan has been paying close attention to the move to strengthen Russian troops around the Ukrainian border. Japan has consistently supported Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan said.
“The two leaders agreed to work together to ease tensions through diplomatic efforts,” the ministry said in the statement.
During a telephone conversation with U.S. President Joseph Biden on Sunday, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky invited him to pay a visit to Ukraine, according to the website of the Ukrainian head of state.
“I am convinced that your arrival in Kyiv in the coming days, which is decisive for stabilizing the situation, will be a powerful signal and will contribute to de-escalation,” Zelensky said.
During the conversation, they also talked about increasing the financial and energy stability of Ukraine against the backdrop of current challenges.
Zelensky said that the Ukrainian side understands all the current risks, ready for any development of the situation. “We will stop any escalation towards Ukraine. The capital of Ukraine, Kyiv, other cities of our state – Kharkiv and Lviv, Dnipro and Odesa – are safe and under reliable protection,” he said.
The President of Ukraine noted the steps taken by the U.S. and other partners that continue to provide effective support to Ukraine. “We expect that, among other things, it will help prevent the spread of panic,” Zelensky said.
He thanked Biden for U.S. support and noted the importance of providing effective security guarantees to Ukraine. “We are ready to discuss them in different formats,” Zelensky said, emphasizing that there can be no security in Europe without the security of Ukraine.
Malt production in Ukraine in January grew by 10.8%, to 18,600 tonnes.
Malt production in 2021 amounted to 218,500 tonnes, which is 19.5% less than in 2020.
At the same time, the year before last, its production decreased by 18% compared to 2019, to 275,000 tonnes.
Issues related to Ukraine and Russia’s actions continue to be in the focus of the United States administration, regardless of where its employees are, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said.
“That remains front and center in what we’re doing and indeed what I continue to do even as we’re heading to Australia,” Blinken told reporters accompanying him to Canberra aboard the plane.
“I’ve been on the phone during a chunk of this trip talking to various counterparts with some focus on Russia-Ukraine. I spent some time talking to National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan as well,” he said.
“And this is part of, as we’ve tabulated, with foreign counterparts something like 200-plus engagements just in recent weeks – phone calls, video conferences, in-person meetings, where we have been working to coordinate all of our partners in standing up to this Russian aggression directed toward Ukraine,” Blinken said.
“We have been engaged in a two-track strategy where we have, on the one hand, been pursuing diplomacy, but at the same time building up strong deterrence to dissuade Russia from taking aggressive action,” the US Secretary of State said.
