Ukraine will receive further assistance from the West to ensure that the country's businesses have access to funding during the ongoing war against invading Russian forces.
Through the so-called Ukraine Investment Framework, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the EU will provide additional guarantees totalling €200 million ($230 million).
Grants of €105 million and €10 million in technical assistance are also to be made available, the two institutions announced on the sidelines of the EBRD's annual meeting in Riga, which runs from Friday to Sunday.
In addition, a further programme to support the Ukrainian private sector has been launched.
In total, the co-financing is expected to unlock new loans in Ukraine amounting to €2 billion through EBRD partner financial institutions.
The Investment Framework for Ukraine is a key financial component of the EU’s Ukraine Facility – an aid programme worth up to €50 billion from 2024 to 2027. It aims to mobilize public and private investment through guarantees and blended finance.
Support for Ukraine remains at the heart of the Bank’s work, emphasized EBRD President Odile Renaud-Basso at the opening of the event: "We are its number one institutional investor," she said in her speech in Riga.
Since the start of the full-scale Russian invasion, the EBRD has transferred €10 billion to Ukraine.
Around 50,000 businesses affected by the war were also supported and more than 22 million Ukrainians - more than half the population – were helped by EBRD investments in the country's energy security and infrastructure, Renaud-Basso said.
With Western help, Ukraine has been defending itself against Russia for more than four years.
