President Volodymyr Zelensky’s top economic adviser claimed that Ukraine now requires $9 billion per month from its Western backers.
Oleg Ustenko says the new figure is needed to plug the Ukrainian government’s budget shortfall, as well as provide emergency shelter for refugees and housing repairs and a basic minimum income for those who have lost their jobs, according to the Financial Times. The total is far greater than the previous figure given last month of $5 billion per month.
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Without the $9 billion per month, he claims that survival will be “next to impossible,” adding that the humanitarian situation is “much worse than anyone can imagine.”
The monthly amount is more than all the aid previously provided during the war by Western nations combined. From January to May, Ukraine received $5.12 billion total in financial aid from foreign backers, according to Reuters.
Damage from the war, lost territory in the industrial east, the blocking of grain and steel exports, a slump in tax revenues and customs duties, and the enactment of emergency measures such as money printing have all combined to wreak havoc on the Ukrainian economy. Ustenko claims that Russia has destroyed $100 billion in Ukrainian economic assets.
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On Tuesday, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen announced that an additional $1.7 billion in direct financial aid would be provided to the Ukrainian government. “This aid will help Ukraine’s democratic government provide essential services for the people of Ukraine,” she said.
