World Bank to provide up to $2 billion in aid to Ukraine
The World Bank has announced that it is going to offer nearly $2 billion in financial assistance to conflict-stricken Ukraine this year so that the Eastern European country can press ahead with its plans for reducing poverty, implementing reforms and fighting corruption.
“Today I am announcing that the World Bank is ready to commit up to $2 billion in 2015, supporting the people of Ukraine in the face of current economic, financial, and geopolitical challenges,” World Bank President Jim Yong Kim said in a statement on Thursday.
The World Bank pledge came hours after representatives from the Ukrainian government and pro-Russia forces declared a ceasefire in the Belarusian capital, Mink, to end hostilities in the highly volatile eastern Ukraine.
“We hope that today’s agreement in Minsk and the IMF’s agreement with Ukraine will pave the way for a more stable economic and development environment to benefit the people of Ukraine,” Kim pointed out.
IMF to provide financial support to Ukraine
Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Christine Lagarde also announced on Thursday that Ukraine would be granted a four-year bailout worth $17.5 billion.
She added that Ukraine would in total receive $40 billion in assistance over the period, which would include the loans from the World Bank.
Ukraine truce to begin February 15
After talks in Minsk, Russian President Vladimir Putin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Francois Hollande and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko agreed on the withdrawal of heavy weapons from Ukraine’s frontlines and a ceasefire to begin from February 15.
Poroshenko said heavy weaponry will be pulled out of Ukraine’s conflict-ridden eastern regions in 14 days.
France’s president also said the ceasefire deal and a “comprehensive political solution” agreed in Belarus provide “serious hope, even if all is not done.”
“All matters are dealt with by this document signed by the contact group” and the pro-Russians, Hollande said.
Ukraine turmoil
The two mainly Russian-speaking regions of Donetsk and Lugansk in eastern Ukraine have been the scene of deadly clashes between pro-Russia forces and the Ukrainian army since Kiev launched military operations to silence protests there in mid-April 2014.
Violence intensified in May last year after the two flashpoint regions held local referendums in which their residents voted overwhelmingly in favor of independence from Ukraine and joining the Russian Federation.
The fighting has reportedly left 5,500 people dead, and more than 12,900 others injured.
MP/HJL
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