EU's Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell addresses media during a joint press conference with Ukrainian Foreign Minister in Kyiv, on Feb. 7, 2024. (Roman Pilipey/AFP via Getty Images)
The European Commission handed Ukraine 4.5 billion euros ($4.8 billion) in its first tranche of macro-financial assistance on March 20.
The EU approved the four-year Ukraine Facility in February, allocating 33 billion euros ($36 billion) in loans and 17 billion euros ($18.6 billion) in grants.
"Today we also made the first payment of 4.5 billion euros under the Ukraine Facility, our 50 billion euro ($54 billion) package to support the recovery, reconstruction and modernization of Ukraine," said Josep Borrell, the EU's top diplomat.
"And tomorrow, the European Council will discuss how to further speed up Ukraine's accession (to the EU)," he added.
The systems, deployed near the Russian town of Kingisepp — roughly 20 kilometers (around 12 miles) from Estonia's eastern border — are designed to jam communications, disrupt radar systems, and assert control over the electromagnetic spectrum.
The bill follows Zelensky's decision on July 22 to sign a bill that effectively destroyed the independence of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO).
Lindsey urged Kyiv to reconsider the law as "one of the most widely used talking points for ending support for Ukraine is that it was awash with corruption."
Ukraine's National Bank held its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 15.5% while revising down economic projections, citing war-related damage and weaker harvests, the bank said on July 24.
Manufactured in January 1976, the An-24 had reached the end of its planned service life but continued flying after its airworthiness certificate was renewed, the Moscow Times reported.
Among the Russian companies listed as recipients of the explosive substance octogen, also known as HMX, is Promsintez, an explosives producer that has ties to the Russian military, a Ukrainian Security Service official told Reuters.
Kolomoisky, the former owner of Ukraine's largest bank PrivatBank, and five of his associates were charged in 2023 with money laundering and fraud. They are accused of embezzling Hr 9.2 billion ($250 million) from PrivatBank.
"We see what people expect from state institutions — ensured justice and the effective functioning of each institution," President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
Maxym Samoiliuk
