West has halved financial aid to Ukraine – media

The flow of Western funds into Ukraine’s state budget has almost halved compared to last year, the Russian newspaper Vedomosti has calculated after reviewing data from Kiev’s Finance Ministry.

Between January and June this year, the US and its allies, who have been backing Kiev throughout its conflict with Moscow, financed only 27% of the country’s budget expenditure, compared to 50% in the first half of 2023, the paper said in an article on Monday.

In monetary terms, Western financial aid to Kiev decreased from $19.1 billion to $10.6 billion, during that period, Vedomosti noted.

According to the article, authorities in Kiev are expected to attract $37 billion in outside loans in 2024 to cover the budget almost entirely, but in the first half of the year they managed to receive only a quarter of that sum.

At the same time, the burden on the Ukrainian budget is increasing, as the cost of servicing previously accrued debt has soared from $900,000 to $5.2 billion this year, the paper said. This is more than total expenditure on education, healthcare and supporting the economy combined, it stressed.

Analysts who spoke to Vedomosti suggested that postponing payment deadlines and debt restructuring would only allow Kiev delay a default but not avoid it. Ukraine is insolvent and will not be able to pay back its foreign loans, they insisted.

Just over a week ago, the Ukrainian government adopted its draft budget for 2025, predicting a deficit of 75%.

According to a report in the Sunday Times, continued international financial aid for Kiev is among the key pillars of Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky’s so-called ‘victory plan.’

Zelensky is currently in the US, where he is expected to present his initiative to President Joe Biden, members of Congress, and to both 2024 election presidential contenders – Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. He claims the scheme could facilitate resolution of the Ukraine conflict by the end of this year if Washington and its allies make “quick decisions” on boosting its support for Kiev.

Russia’s first deputy permanent representative to the UN, Dmitry Polyansky, has said Moscow is unaware of the contents of Zelensky’s proposals and that it has not been invited to discuss them. “It is hard for us to understand what is on the madman’s mind,” he remarked.

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