MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 12th July, 2022) The EU Council of Ministers approved a 1 billion euro loan for Ukraine on Tuesday, European Commission Executive Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis said.
"EU is stepping up its financial support to Ukraine: EU ministers just approved ��1 billion loan #Ecofin. This is part of new exceptional macro-financial assistance package," Dombrovskis tweeted.
The tranche is part of an aid package of up to $9 billion offered by the European Union to Kiev on May 18.
A spokeswoman for the European Commission said that a second part of the Ukraine macro financial aid package is currently being finalized.
"It's indeed important to underline that we intend to come forward shortly with the appropriate proposal concerning the rest of the exceptional MFA (macro financial aid) to Ukraine, and the second proposal will enable to provision the full amount of relief support envisaged in the communication of May 18 on Ukraine reconstruction and relief," Veerle Nuyts said during a briefing.
Since Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine on February 24, Western countries have been providing Kiev with military, financial and humanitarian aid. On May 5, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said that Ukraine had received more than $12 billion in financial and military aid since the start of hostilities.
