US to Give Ukraine $17.7 mln Extra in Humanitarian Aid: White House
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - The US government agreed to give Ukraine millions of dollars in aid, including food, shelter and water, the White House confirmed. This follows a meeting between the US vice president Joe Biden, who spoke with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko.
“The vice president informed President Poroshenko that the US will offer [an] additional $17.7 million,” the White House said in a statement. The declaration clarified that the money will be set aside for medical needs, foodstuffs and drinkable water.
Biden also told Poroshenko during their meeting on Monday that the US is ready to give Ukraine some loan guarantees worth $1 billion dollars as part of its financial support in 2015.
The US vice president and Poroshenko also discussed Ukrainian reforms. “The vice president welcomed the appointment of a new head of the anti-corruption bureau and encouraged the further implementation of rule of law reforms, including anti-trust measures and judicial reform,” the White House added.
Last week, Poroshenko appointed Artem Sytnyk as the new Director of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau, RT reported.
Last week the EU approved a new bailout package for Ukraine worth €1.8 billion, ($1.93 billion) with the first €600 million ($643 million) slice being provided in the summer, according to the EU Commission.
Ukraine’s economic situation is dire, with the country’s foreign debt totalling $72.9 billion at the beginning of 2015. The country’s central bank reserves have been depleted below $5.6 billion as of March 5 and the hryvnia has lost about 70 percent of its value in 12 months.
In March, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) described the pressing need to protect medical facilities in eastern Ukraine, stressing the urgency of delivering medical supplies safely to the war-ravaged region, which is experiencing a humanitarian crisis.
A statement released on March 19, said that more than 100 health facilities have been damaged or destroyed during the fighting in the Donetsk and Lugansk regions.
More than 3,000 civilians have died and over 2,200 people are missing since the start of the military conflict in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic last year, the DPR’s human rights commissioner’s press service said in April.