Ukraine, EU sign deals on 35-bn-euro assistance secured by Russian assets revenue

Kyiv (The Uttam Hindu): Ukraine signed deals with the European Union (EU) to secure up to 35 billion euros (about $36.7 billion) in Macro-Financial Assistance (MFA), the Ukrainian Finance Ministry said. The Memorandum of Understanding and a Loan Agreement were inked by Ukraine's National Bank chairman Andriy Pyshnyy, Finance Minister Sergii Marchenko, and European Commission Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis.

Under the agreements, the funds will be provided as loans under the Group of Seven's Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration Loans for Ukraine, backed by the future revenues from frozen Russian sovereign assets in the EU, Xinhua news agency reported on Wednesday. The Ministry emphasised that Ukraine will not use domestic resources to repay the loan. "It is expected that all MFA funds for Ukraine will be on a non-repayable basis," the Ministry said in a statement. To obtain the funds, Ukraine must meet 14 conditions, including reforms in macro-financial stability, state-owned enterprises, public administration, energy, rule of law, anti-corruption, and Defence industry. Since the start of the full-scale war with Russia, Ukraine has received around $40.5 billion in budgetary support from the EU.