World Bank

Ukraine fulfilled the conditions for receiving a tranche from the EU in September. The government is also attracting a grant from the US for salaries and social programs through the World Bank.

Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said he met with a World Bank delegation to discuss priorities, including rapid recovery, energy and the confiscation of frozen Russian assets, and expressed confidence in this year's efforts to make next year predictable and stable.

The Cabinet of Ministers has allocated an additional UAH 1. 9 billion in grants from the World Bank to restore heating in Kharkiv by the next winter season.

Shmyhal held the first meeting of the Steering Board for the Coordination of Central Executive Authorities to support Ukraine's participation in the Multi-Donor Coordination Platform. According to him, the country already has access to funding under the EU's Ukraine Facility program, so we need to form a single list of projects as soon as possible.

According to the World Bank, Ukraine entered the upper-middle-income category for the first time in 2023, thanks to economic growth of 5. 3% and a population decline of more than 15% following the Russian invasion.

This year, the Ukrainian government has provided more than UAH 220 million to 55 agricultural enterprises for the development of horticulture, berry growing, viticulture and greenhouse farming.

Ukraine needs an additional $9. 5 billion this year to finance its priority recovery needs.

The Odessa region received from the Ministry of health 4 Modern Electric Vehicles for primary health care doctors to visit patients in remote areas, in addition to 3 similar vehicles received earlier.

Russian money from frozen assets worth more than $300 billion should be a key source for Ukraine's long-term recovery from the war, with $50 billion of these assets to be provided by the G7 countries this year.

The World Bank will provide Ukraine with more than $100 million in grants to repair housing damaged by Russian shelling and restore energy services, including district heating in Kharkiv.

The G7 countries plan to create a fund that uses revenues from frozen Russian assets to provide financial assistance to Ukraine without requiring a refund, media reports say.

Due to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the energy sector suffered direct losses of 1 16. 1 billion and indirect financial losses of 4 40.1 billion, while restoration needs amount to 5 50.5 billion for the complete reconstruction of destroyed facilities.

The World Bank's Managing Director of Operations, Anna Bjerde, said that within the framework of the PEACE project, we managed to attract 42 billion dollars, of which we have already transferred more than 38 billion dollars to Ukraine in tranches.

The World Bank will support simplifying the rules of new construction and improving the protection of citizens who buy real estate in Ukraine, in order to improve the situation on the housing market.

Finance ministers will consider using the profits from immobilized Russian assets in the West to provide a large-scale loan to Ukraine after the G7 summit in June.

Due to losses in the energy sector, the NBU lowered its economic growth forecast for this year from 3. 6% to 3%. However, economic growth is expected to accelerate to 4-5% in the coming years.%

The US is ready to lead a loan of $50bn to Ukraine repaid by profits from frozen Russian assets if the EU can indefinitely extend sanctions against Moscow, according to a leaked discussion paper.

The head of the National Bank of Ukraine explained that expanding access to financial services, including the reintegration of territories, veterans and solving problems with migration flows, is a requirement of the IMF for Ukraine to receive the next tranche of assistance.

EU ambassador to Ukraine Katarina Maternova held her first meeting with Ukrainian officials, including Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, to discuss Ukraine's priorities, urgent energy needs in connection with Russia's attacks, as well as reforms related to the IMF program, EU funds and anti-corruption efforts.

Norway allocates NOK 75 billion (approximately EUR 6. 4 billion as of May 2024) to Ukraine for 2023-2027.

Due to Russian missile strikes destroying critical infrastructure, especially in the energy sector, the National Bank of Ukraine lowered its forecast for Ukraine's economic growth in 2024 to 3%.

The head of the National Bank of Ukraine proposed an innovative mechanism of "reparation credit", in which Ukraine will receive long-term loans from partners with collateral in the form of claims of Ukraine for damages from Russia and guarantees from frozen Russian reserves, which will be used in the event of Russia's refusal to pay reparations.

Lithuania allocates 5 million euros for the reconstruction of destroyed schools and kindergartens in Ukraine, including the construction of bomb shelters.

World Bank President Ajay Banga expressed his readiness to manage a G7 loan fund for Ukraine secured by frozen Russian assets for non-military purposes, using the World Bank's experience in managing similar donor funds.

A number of state-owned companies have announced their intentions to go through corporatization, which is expected to attract billions of hryvnias in investment and open up new opportunities through corporate governance.

The Verkhovna Rada proposes to introduce a "childlessness tax" for Ukrainians aged 21 to 58 who have fewer than three children in order to improve the demographic situation and support families with children.

Despite the power outages, Ukrainian citizens will have access to medical, social and public services as the government ensures energy autonomy for critical institutions through generators and solar power plants.

Since the beginning of the year, 6,724 agricultural enterprises have received UAH 43. 2 billion in bank loans for development, of which 3,980 farms have been financed for UAH 18.3 billion under the government program "Affordable Loans 5-7-9%".

The situation in the foreign exchange market is now under control, and Ukraine has successfully transitioned to a managed floating exchange rate regime without shocks, NBU Governor Andriy Pyshny said. The uncertainty that exists, according to the head of the National Bank, is related to security risks, and the war is a key factor that generates risks.

Ukraine needs the legal basis and political will to access $300 billion in frozen Russian assets to finance its defense and recovery from the Russian invasion.