'Ukraine govt losing $5-6 billion every month due to war' says US official

The administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, Samantha Power, claimed that the Ukrainian government loses between $5 and $6 billion every month as a result of the ongoing conflict. Although Washington will pay $7.5 billion to Ukraine to finance its budget expenditures, the US official believes that this amount will not be sufficient in the long run.

"The burn rate for this government having to manage this war is, at last estimate, somewhere between five and six billion dollars a month. And that is a staggering burn rate. We know that more direct budget support is going to be needed down the line," she reportedly said, speaking at the World Bank roundtable on June 21.

In early June, US Ambassador to Kyiv Bridget Brink pledged $7.5 billion in US aid to Ukraine. She also stated that her country has already provided the Kyiv government with approximately $1 billion in aid. In late April, Denys Shmyhal, Ukraine's Prime Minister, told a World Bank roundtable in Washington that his country needed $4 billion to $5 billion per month in short-term financial help.

Ukraine received $30 billion from international allies since Russian invasion

Ukraine's Finance Minister Sergey Marchenko stated in May that the Ukrainian state budget was financed by only one-third of its own income, with the remaining two-thirds coming from international grants and loans. According to the National Bank of Ukraine's financial stability report for June 2022, the total amount of aid reported and supplied to Ukraine by international partners since Russia's "invasion" is $30 billion.

It should be highlighted that up to one-third of the funds supplied are non-repayable grants, with the remainder being low-interest loans and credit guarantees. This money is the primary source of funding for the state budget deficit, which arose as a result of Russian military action, according to Ukrinform. The National Bank stressed that the financing of defence and social spending, as well as economic support, will remain crucially dependent on international aid and its prompt reception.

Specifically, $5 billion every month is required to meet the budget deficit. Earlier, Canada's Deputy Prime Minister for Finance Christia Freeland and US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen underlined their commitment to continuing to support Ukraine.

Image: AP