KIEV (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 02nd September, 2021) The United States' assistance to Ukraine to facilitate reforms will total $463 million in 2021, raising the total assistance since 2014 to nearly $2 billion, the two countries said in a joint statement on Wednesday.
The Joint Statement on the US-Ukraine Strategic Partnership came following a meeting between US President Joe Biden and his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who is currently on a working visit to Washington.
"In support of Ukraine's reform efforts, the U.S. government has provided Ukraine with nearly $2 billion in development assistance since 2014 and plans to allocate over $463 million in assistance this year, including for programs focused on democracy, human rights, local governance and decentralization, privatization, and judicial reform," the statement read.
Additionally, the US will provide $12.8 million under the America Rescue Plan Act to help Ukraine combat the coronavirus pandemic. In total, Washington has already poured nearly $55 million in coronavirus-related assistance and donated nearly 2.2 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines to Ukraine.
The US government also pledged an additional $45 million in humanitarian aid to Ukraine this year over the ongoing conflict in the country's eastern region of Donbas, the statement said. The US has already provided over $306 million in assistance to Ukrainians since 2014. According to Washington's estimates, the years-long war has left 3.4 million people in need of humanitarian aid.
