The international community supports the sustainability and operational capacity of Ukraine’s public sector in the midst of the war through the World Bank’s FREE Ukraine Multi-Donor Trust Fund. Following Russia’s aggression in February 2022, Finland has granted EUR 21 million in additional funding for development cooperation and humanitarian assistance in Ukraine.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has led to major economic and human losses in Ukraine. Ukraine’s national economy has suffered from the war, and it has become more difficult for the state to borrow money from international financial markets.
“In the midst of the war, responding to Ukraine’s acute needs is important. Weakening general government finances threaten to undermine the development results that have been achieved and increase poverty among the population. The Trust Fund supports Ukraine’s obligation and capacity to produce and maintain critical basic services also for the most vulnerable population groups,” says Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Ville Skinnari.
Financing of Recovery from Economic Emergency in Ukraine (FREE Ukraine) is part of the short-term support package of nearly USD four billion offered by the World Bank to Ukraine during the crisis phase caused by the Russian war of aggression and is a key financial instrument for coordinating funding from donors. The World Bank’s FREE Ukraine supports the sustainability of Ukraine’s public finances and public sector capacity to maintain public and basic services. In addition, critical funding from the fund will be channeled to war-affected Ukraine for example to take care of running costs, including salaries, pensions, and healthcare. To date, more than USD one billion has been paid to Ukraine from the fund.
After Russia’s invasion in February 2022, Finland granted Ukraine additional support in the form of development cooperation and humanitarian assistance. By contributing EUR six million through the World Bank, Finland increases the additional support to a total of EUR 21 million. Of the additional funding, EUR 8.2 million will be channeled to humanitarian assistance through the United Nations Refugee Agency UNHCR and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and EUR one million through UNHCR to support Ukrainians who have fled to Moldova.
EUR 11.8 million will be channeled to development cooperation via the World Bank’s FREE Ukraine MDTF, the Partnership Fund for a Resilient Ukraine, which is coordinated by the United Kingdom, the Council of Europe’s Action Plan for Ukraine, and the OSCE’s project activities.