The IMF has approved a US$15.6 billion support package for Ukraine to assist with the conflict-hit country’s economic recovery, the fund said in a statement on Friday.
Russia’s invasion has devastated Ukraine’s economy, causing activity to contract by about 30 percent last year, destroying much of its capital stock and spreading poverty, the IMF said.
The outbreak of war has rippled through the global economy, fueling global inflation through rising wheat and oil prices.
Photo: Reuters
The invasion has also highlighted Europe’s dependence on Russian natural gas for its energy security. Many countries were forced to seek out alternative sources of energy after the war began. The two-step program would aim to stabilize the country’s economic situation while the war continues, before turning to “more ambitious structural reforms” after the end of hostilities, IMF deputy managing director Gita Gopinath said in a statement.
The 48-month Extended Fund Facility approved by the fund’s board is worth about US$15.6 billion.
It forms the IMF’s portion of a US$115 billion overall support package comprised of debt relief, grants and loans by multilateral and bilateral institutions, IMF mission chief for Ukraine Gavin Gray told reporters on Friday.
“The goal of Ukraine’s new IMF-supported program is to provide an anchor for economic policies — policies that will sustain macro economic financial stability and support economic and economic recovery,” he said.
Of the total amount approved by the IMF, US$2.7 billion is being made available to Ukraine immediately, with the rest of the funds due to be released over the next four years.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called for Bucha to become a “symbol of justice” on the one-year anniversary of Russia’s withdrawal from the town now synonymous with war crimes allegations.
“We must do everything to make Bucha a symbol of justice... We want every Russian murderer, executioner, terrorist to be held responsible for every crime,” Zelenskiy said at a Kyiv summit on the Bucha crimes.
Earlier, the Ukrainian president visited Bucha with leaders of Croatia, Moldova, Slovakia and Slovenia for a commemoration ceremony.
“What happened in Bucha, the Russian army does it wherever it goes,” Zelenskiy said in Kyiv.
He said the Bucha tragedy exemplified the “systemic genocidal violence, which is the essence of Russian actions in all Ukrainian occupied territories.”
Ukraine estimates that about 1,400 civilians died around Bucha, and 637 in the town itself.
Ukraine will use its national judicial system to hold accountable “the majority of Russian murderers and terrorists,” Zelenskiy said.
It would also rely on the International Criminal Court “which is able to prosecute Russian war criminals of various levels within its jurisdiction,” he said.
Kyiv is working on the establishment of a special tribunal for the crime of aggression.
In a video message on Friday evening US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the US “will continue pushing for accountability and for justice for as long as it takes.”
US President Joe Biden called for Russia to release Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who is being held on espionage charges, while rebuffing a call from the paper’s editorial board to expel Russian journalists from the US.
Asked by White House reporters what his message was to Russia regarding Gershkovich, a US citizen, Biden said: “Let him go.”
Wall Street Journal editor in chief Emma Tucker sent a note to the newspaper’s staff on Friday, saying that “we will carry on doing everything in our power to secure Evan’s release.”
“Your safety and security are what matters most to me, and we will continue to protect that no matter where you may be reporting from,” she added.
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