Ukraine's state budget received about $2.8 billion in October from its international partners, namely the U.S. and EU, the Finance Ministry announced on Oct. 31.
The total sum included a $1.15 billion grant from the U.S. and $1.6 billion as part of a macro-financial assistance package from the EU.
The U.S. grant was the fifth such package provided under the program called Public Expenditures of Administrative Capacity Endurance (PEACE) in Ukraine, designed to support the country's social and humanitarian expenditures. So far in 2023, Ukraine has received almost $11 billion in grants from the U.S.
In particular, the funding will be used to cover social support expenditures – namely payments for internally displaced persons (IDP), people with disabilities, and low-income families – and salaries for state employees.
The PEACE project in Ukraine was established in June 2022 to help the country in supporting around 13 million beneficiaries.
The $1.6 billion from the EU was the ninth installment of a total of 18 billion euros that the European Commission pledged in December 2022. The tranches have been distributed in installments throughout the year, with the previous transfer occurring on Sept. 22.
The package aims to assist Ukraine with paying for essential public services, maintaining macroeconomic stability, and restoring critical infrastructure destroyed by Russian attacks.
The Finance Ministry's Oct. 31 press release noted that Ukraine has received almost $35.5 billion in external funding so far in 2023.
However, Ukraine's needs, especially concerning the cost of rebuilding, are exponentially larger than the amount received so far.
The damage caused by the Russian destruction of the Kakhovka dam and subsequent flooding alone reached almost $14 billion, a UN report found on Oct. 17.
The World Bank estimated in December 2022 that Ukraine's reconstruction could cost more than $630 billion.
Elsa Court
