Ukraine has received an important $1.34 billion in funds from the World Bank.

The funds were disbursed to support non-security financial and economic stability, Ukraine’s Finance Ministry said on Monday. The increase will be welcomed by Kiev, which warns that its ability to defend itself against the Russian invasion could soon be hit by delays in funding from the United States and the European Union.

In one opinionAs the ministry noted, the financing, which is the sixth additional financing under the PEACE (Public Expenditures for Administrative Capacity Endurance in Ukraine) project, was from a World Bank loan of US 1.086 billion -dollars, a US$190 million grant from Norway, a US$50 million grant from the United States and a US$20 million grant from Switzerland.

The funds are expected to be used to partially compensate for non-security and defense-related expenses of the Ukrainian state budget, including social benefits for old age and payments to employees of the state emergency service, the ministry added.

“International financial assistance is an essential contribution to maintaining Ukraine’s financial and economic stability and allows us to provide priority social spending during the war,” said Ukrainian Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko.

“Since the beginning of the all-out invasion, the governments of Japan, the United States, Norway and Switzerland have repeatedly demonstrated their unwavering support and solidarity for Ukraine. I am grateful to our partners for their willingness to cooperate and help at a crucial time for Ukraine.”

Financing difficulties for Ukraine

It has been almost two years since Russia invaded Ukraine, and as the war rages on, uncertainty is growing Western support for Ukraine.

Earlier this month, the White House warned the US Congress that funds earmarked for aid to Ukraine would be exhausted by the end of the year as Russia intensifies its campaign to destroy the country’s energy infrastructure.

The United States, Ukraine’s largest donor as a single country, has provided more than $40 billion in aid since Russia’s invasion in February 2022. But right-wing Republicans in Congress expressed increasing skepticism about approving additional funding for Ukraine.

The United States Senate has announced that it will vote on it Aid package for Ukraine in 2024. But Congress could continue to withhold the money.

The stalemate over U.S. aid to Kiev is mirrored in the European Union, where Hungary is located blocking a 50 billion euro ($55 billion) aid package. The bloc is expected to revisit the issue in January.

Difficulties in raising the funds in Washington and Brussels have raised fears in Kiev that Western supporters are “tired” by the protracted battle, as is common in front-line fighting stuck.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky noted that Kiev’s foreign policy will be active in January with many international activities.

“We are making every effort to strengthen Ukraine and ensure that everyone faces the coming year with confidence in terms of military assistance, macro-financial assistance and political support,” he said.

We continue to work with partners to maintain unity in supporting Ukraine. With those in Europe, America and around the world who support us, our state and international law.

Our foreign policy will be active in the coming weeks and we are already planning… pic.twitter.com/YmNta6e5gV

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Volodymyr Zelensky (@ZelenskyyUa) December 15, 2023

Drone attacks continue

Russian attacks against Ukraine continued over Christmas.

On Monday, the Ukrainian military said Russia fired 31 drones and two missiles from the annexed Crimean peninsula overnight.

According to the military, the attack mainly targeted southern Ukraine. Kiev’s air defenses “destroyed 28 Shahed attack drones in the Odessa, Kherson, Mykolaiv, Donetsk, Kirovohrad and Khmelnytsky regions” and also destroyed the missiles, it said.

Meanwhile, Russian-appointed authorities reported that one person was killed in a Ukrainian shelling of the Russian-occupied eastern town of Horlivka.

The latest attacks are taking place in Ukraine Christmas on December 25th for the first time after President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a law moving the celebration from January 7 to the day observed by the Russian Orthodox Church.

In a speech on Christmas Eve, Zelensky assured Ukrainians fighting Russia that “the darkness is losing step by step, day by day.”

“Today this is our common goal, our common dream. And that is exactly what our common prayer is about today. For our freedom. For our victory. For our Ukraine.”