Ukraine-costs are rising
2022.11.24 12:06
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Ukraine-costs are rising
Budrigannews.com – Following the escalation of Russian missile attacks this week, Ukraine’s Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko stated that additional Western aid is required to assist the country in meeting its rising reconstruction costs.
All of Ukraine’s nuclear power plants have been shut down for the first time in 40 years as a result of a flurry of Russian strikes in recent days, resulting in Kyiv’s largest power outages of the nine-month war to date.
The World Bank estimated in August that Ukraine’s physical infrastructure would need to be repaired for $105 billion, but Marchenko told Reuters that number was now going up.
In an email, he stated, “Unfortunately, this number grows every day and, in the worst case scenario, will significantly increase.”
“We’ll have approximately $3-3.5 billion a month versus $5 billion this year,” Marchenko added. That “should cover the majority of our financing requirements throughout the year to maintain the operation of the government,”
However, he stated that the reconstruction costs must be increased if at all possible, as the current budget only includes a very small amount.
When the war, now in its tenth month, comes to an end, senior European officials have estimated that it will likely cost more than one trillion euros to rebuild Ukraine.
However, Western support continues at the moment.
This week, an additional $400 million in military aid was approved by the United States.Also, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock tweeted on Thursday that when the G7 foreign ministers meet next week, they will talk about how to make sure Ukraine has enough energy.
On Wednesday, the International Monetary Fund announced that a preliminary “staff level” agreement for a policy program monitoring arrangement had been reached.Ukraine hopes that the move will result in a full-fledged, tens of billions of dollars worth of support.
Marchenko said, “The support from our international partners is essential for us,” pointing to the 18 billion euros that the European Union had promised.
Ukraine had requested a $15-20 billion IMF program earlier this year, but the Fund’s requirements for debt sustainability prevented its approval.Instead, as part of the IMF’s new food and energy crisis program, an emergency deal worth $1.3 billion was reached.
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