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The national flag of Ukraine and the flag of the EU are flying in the wind on April 24, 2023, in Berlin, Germany. (Monika Skolimowska/picture alliance via Getty Images)
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Ukraine has received 4.2 billion euros ($4.6 billion) as part of the EU's four-year financial support program, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said on Aug. 13.

"This assistance is crucial to maintain our macro-financial stability, advance recovery, and drive key reforms," Shmyhal said.

The sum comes as the first regular installment under the Ukraine Facility, a plan approved by the EU that allocates 33 billion euros ($36 billion) in loans and 17 billion euros ($18 billion) in grants to Kyiv.

The EU greenlighted the Ukraine Facility in February, and the EU Council approved the framework agreement in mid-May, setting out the Ukrainian government's tasks for recovery, reconstruction, and modernization.

Kyiv already received several pre-financing "bridge" tranches under the assistance plan earlier this year.

With the latest tranche, the sum allocated to Kyiv under the Ukraine Facility in 2024 will reach 12 billion euros ($13 billion), Shmyhal said.

The besieged country received $42.5 billion in external financing from various donors last year, allowing it to function amid the ongoing war. The International Monetary Fund said Ukraine will need roughly the same sum to support its budget this year.

According to Finance Minister Serhii Marchenko, the current pledges are still not sufficient to cover the country's needs, adding that Ukraine will likely need an additional $12-15 billion in foreign financial support next year.

Opinion: The EU should help Ukrainian refugees return home
After Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, millions of Ukrainians found refuge in the European Union, with Germany and Poland alone taking in about one million refugees each. But this was always meant to be a temporary solution. The protracted war of attrition that is

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