The United States has provided more than $46 billion in security, economic and humanitarian aid to Ukraine since the Russian invasion began and will continue to provide the economic assistance that makes Ukraine’s resistance possible by supporting the home front: funding critical public services and helping the government work, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said.
“In the coming months, we expect to provide about $10 billion in additional economic support to Ukraine,” she reiterated at a news conference Thursday in Bangalore, India, of earlier U.S. commitments.
The secretary recalled U.S. President Joseph Biden’s words about supporting Ukraine in its struggle for as long as it takes and thanked allies for stepping up their direct assistance.
“And we think it is critical that the IMF move quickly to a fully funded program for Ukraine, as it has promised,” Yellen said.
“We very much want the IMF to come to an agreement on lending to Ukraine. The managing director (of the Fund) has made it clear that she should agree on a full program by the end of March,” the secretary added.
She stressed that continued and reliable support for Ukraine would be a major topic of discussion during her visit to India, where she is attending the G20 finance ministers’ meeting.
Yellen recalled that since the early days of the war, the U.S. has worked with a multilateral coalition of more than 30 countries to impose serious economic costs on Russia for its brutal attack.
“Our twin goals are to degrade Russia’s military-industrial complex and reduce the revenue it can use to finance its war,” she said, pointing out that Russia’s economy has become increasingly isolated, with nearly a million Russians leaving the country last year.
Responding to questions, the U.S. Treasury chief said a joint communiqué from G20 finance ministers was still under discussion. “Of course, we would like to see a sharp condemnation of the impact that the war has had on Ukraine and on global economic prospects. It is one of the most significant factors reducing growth and causing very negative side effects, especially for low-income countries,” Yellen stressed.
As reported, Ukraine hopes that the IMF Monitoring Program will be replaced by the Extended Funding Facility program as early as the second quarter of 2023, which can partially cover the gap in covering the $38 billion deficit of the state budget-2023, which is now about $10 billion. Kiev expects that the U.S. will provide $10 billion in grant aid by September, and the EU – EUR18 billion of preferential credit support during the year.
