Weekly Update #140
November 4, 2024

General Figures

Refugees from Ukraine recorded across Europe 

6,191,800

Last updated October 15 2024

Covers those granted refugee status, temporary asylum status, temporary protection, or statuses through similar national protection schemes, as well as those recorded in the country under other forms of stay 

Refugees from Ukraine recorded beyond Europe

560,200

Last updated October 15 2024

Covers those granted refugee status, temporary asylum status, temporary protection, or statuses through similar national protection schemes, as well as those recorded in the country under other forms of stay 

Refugees from Ukraine recorded globally

6,752,000

Last updated October 15 2024

Estimated number of internally displaced people (IDPs) in Ukraine (as of Aug 2024)

3,669,000

Source: UNHCR collation of statistics made available by the authorities

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IOM Ukraine Internal Displacement Report: General Population Survey Round 18 (October 2024)

Between August 12 and October 15, 2024, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) carried out Round 18 of the General Population Survey (GPS), which offers a highly representative assessment of internal displacement in Ukraine. The data in this report, commissioned by IOM, was gathered by 61 enumerators from Multicultural Insights through screener phone-based interviews involving 40,002 randomly selected respondents, alongside follow-up interviews with 1,421 internally displaced persons (IDPs), 1,185 returnees, and 1,804 residents.

Key Findings

• IOM estimates that 3,555,000 de facto IDPs and 4,294,000 returnees reside in Ukraine. 

• The largest number of IDPs resided in Dnipropetrovska (14%) and Kharkivska (12%,) Oblasts. The highest proportion of IDPs originate from Donetska Oblast (28%). The largest flow of intra-oblast displacement remains in Khersonska (93%), Donetska (86%), Zaporizka (85%) and Kharkivska (83%) Oblasts. 

• Seven per cent of the IDP households are single-parent households (only one member aged 18+ and all others are 0-17 years old) as of October 2024. 

• The majority (70%) of de facto IDPs expressed the intention to remain in their current location beyond the next three months, while 13 per cent were considering to return to their places of origin. Among those considering return, the majority (62%) reported they would do so only after the war is over. 

• Ten per cent of IDPs have spent at least 14 days abroad since February 2022, due to the full-scale invasion. 

• An estimated 80 per cent of IDPs have been in displacement for more than one year, with the median length in displacement at two years and three months for all IDPs.

• The most commonly reported needs included power banks or generators (26%), income-earning opportunities (10%), and medicines (9%). 

• IDPs continue to rely heavily on livelihoods-based coping mechanisms to meet their basic needs, often resorting to more severe strategies. Specifically, 24 per cent of IDPs reported that their households had to adopt emergency-level coping strategies, compared to 16 per cent of the non-displaced population. 

Humanitarian Situation Overview (as of 30 October 2024)

Throughout September, relentless attacks across Ukraine continued to claim lives and cause immense suffering to millions of people. September was reported as the deadliest month of the year for civilians, with nearly 1,500 people killed or injured. Ongoing hostilities further devastated the lives of front-line communities’ residents, highlighting the urgent need for sustained support to ensure access to health care, education, protection services, repairs of damaged housing or temporary accommodation, and water, sanitation and hygiene services for those affected.

By the third quarter of 2024, humanitarian organizations provided at least one form of assistance to 7.2 million people in need across Ukraine, including emergency support after attacks. Almost 60 per cent of the people reached were women and girls, 35 per cent were older people, nearly 20 per cent were children, and 12 per cent were people with disabilities. Over nine months, humanitarians supported 1.7 million internally displaced people and 1.1 million people who returned home after displacement.

Some 5.8 million people, particularly in front-line areas, received water, sanitation and hygiene services, while 3 million received food and livelihood support. Two million people received health-care support. Aid organizations provided construction materials, emergency repairs and household supplies to 1.3 million people. They also offered counseling, legal aid and protection support and child protection services for a similar number of caregivers and children. Mine action efforts, through awareness and education activities, reached around 1.2 million people. Around 700,000 people received multi-purpose cash assistance, and 600,000 children and teachers were supported to continue educational activities. Assistance was provided to 100,000 people who sought refuge and temporary accommodation in collective sites.

Winter-related assistance delivery has commenced under the 2024-2025 Winter Response Plan. By the end of September, more than 26,000 people had received heating supplies, winter clothing and household items, house repairs, livestock inputs and other assistance. This support aims to assist most vulnerable people through the cold months.

Humanitarians’ efforts to reach residents of war-torn towns and villages near the front line with vital assistance included 34 inter-agency convoys to Donetska, Kharkivska, Khersonska and Zaporizka oblasts between January and September. Complementing regular response and aiming to deliver much-needed aid in a fluid and security-challenging context in front-line areas, six convoys delivered vital assistance to 10,000 people in September alone. This included hygiene supplies, medicines, repair materials, warm blankets and other essential supplies to prepare for winter.

The more than 600 organizations working on the ground in Ukraine, within the humanitarian coordination architecture, need resources to address the most urgent needs. The 2024 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan received less than half of the requested US$3.11 billion. Additional resources are critically needed to ensure much-needed assistance is delivered to the most vulnerable and those impacted by the war.

Source: OCHA

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Ukraine's winterisation 2024/25: A Multi-Sectoral Needs Assessment Lens on Needs and Vulnerabilities (October 2024)

This technical brief by REACH aims to provide updated and detailed information on winter-related needs throughout Ukraine, using the latest data from REACH’s Multi-Sectoral Needs Assessment (MSNA).

Key Findings

• In June 2024, REACH produced its Cold Spots Assessment for 2024-25, which identifies areas where cold temperatures intersect with socio-economic vulnerabilities and high conflict impacts.  Given socio-economic vulnerabilities, conflict-related damage, and high population density, Kharkivska and Sumska oblasts continued to hold the highest Cold Spot Index (CSI) in Ukraine. Within these oblasts, the raions of Kharkivskyi,Bohodukhivskyi, Chuhuivskyi (Kharkivska oblast), Kramatorskyi (Donetska oblast), and Sumskyi (Sumska oblast) remained the most at risk during the cold season.

• Disruptions to water and heating services remain a significant concern, particularly in frontline oblasts like Donetska and Kharkivska. Areas such as Pokrovskyi in Donetska and Kharkivskyi in Kharkivska show the greatest need for repairs and support to water and district heating systems.

• Many households in areas such as Dnipropetrovska, Donetska, and Kharkivska report missing heating appliances for the upcoming winter, compounded by ongoing electricity disruptions. Nearly 49% of the population in Dnipropetrovska relies on electricity as their primary heating source, posing a critical vulnerability.

• Several areas, such as Izmailskyi and Bolhradskyi in Odeska oblast, report severe shortages of winter clothing. Gaps in access to essential non-food items (NFIs) like blankets and thermal bedding have also been noted, including heating fuel in Odeska oblast, highlighting the need for urgent interventions to ensure thermal comfort.

Source: REACH

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Open Letter to U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and USAID Administrator Power: U.S. REPO for Ukrainians Act Needs Assessment

A large group of local and international NGOs providing humanitarian response in Ukraine released an open letter to advocate for urgent assistance to the most affected communities, particularly to victims of sexual violence.

The complete open letter is featured below.

Dear Secretary Blinken and Administrator Power,

As concerned non-governmental organizations and individuals working with victims and survivors of gross human rights violations and serious violations of humanitarian law in Ukraine, we write to urge the United States to repurpose a percentage of immobilized Russian sovereign assets towards urgent interim reparation which would address the devastating harms suffered by the most vulnerable victims and survivors of Russia’s aggression in Ukraine.

The REPO for Ukrainians Act, included in the Ukraine supplemental signed into law on April 24, 2024, states that resources in the Ukraine Support Fund shall be available to the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), to provide assistance to Ukraine for damage resulting from the Russian invasion. It also requires that the Secretary of State, in consultation with the USAID Administrator, submit to Congress “an assessment of the most pressing needs of Ukraine for reconstruction, rebuilding, and humanitarian aid” within 180 days of the bill’s enactment. The assessment requires exploring the extent to which certain needs are being met or funded already, and identification of priority needs, including those determined by the Ukrainian government.

As the State Department and USAID prepares this assessment, we seek to draw attention to the fact that significant funding has already been, and will continue to be provided by the United States, together with allies, to support military efforts, humanitarian assistance, and longer-term reconstruction and recovery of Ukraine. The Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment (RDNA3) already provides an assessment of the damage and assistance needs. However, a gap remains to adopt a human-centered approach to the reconstruction and recovery of Ukraine. Humanitarian assistance, reconstruction and recovery must be considered hand in hand with provision of reparation.

A first step towards prompt reparation is the provision of urgent interim reparation for the most vulnerable survivors, including children. While the Act envisages engagement on an international compensation mechanism which could deliver compensation to a limited proportion of victims in the future, the most vulnerable survivors cannot wait until formal justice and accountability processes are pursued and/or a peace agreement is reached. Individuals have endured grievous human rights violations and serious violations of humanitarian law, including conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV), torture, forced transfer and disappearance, resulting in trauma, chronic injuries, and economic hardship, compounded by the destruction of homes and difficulty in accessing health and social care services. These harms are not currently adequately and effectively addressed.

The Administration should consider specific forms of urgent interim reparation to acknowledge the harm suffered by these survivors, such as interim compensation, housing, medical or legal assistance or rehabilitation, as pressing needs in its assessment. The Ukrainian government has demonstrated support for urgent interim reparation and, through a multi-stakeholder approach, has established the first urgent interim reparation pilot project in the world for survivors of conflict-related sexual violence, which can be expanded to other categories of victims if resources are made available.

Funding of urgent interim reparation would bridge the gap between short-term lifesaving humanitarian assistance goals and paving the way for sustainable reconstruction and recovery of Ukraine. It is critical to address the most urgent harms suffered by victims, preventing these harms from worsening and becoming irreparable. It is also essential to prevent further cycles of violence and exclusion. In supporting survivors to reclaim their dignity and agency, urgent interim reparation will contribute to social cohesion, economic growth and long-term peacebuilding efforts, and will encourage survivor engagement in formal justice and accountability processes.

We call on the U.S. Department of State and USAID to ensure that urgent interim reparation is prioritized within the needs assessment. Specifically, we urge you to:

• Utilize a significant percentage of immobilized Russian sovereign assets to fund urgent interim reparation for Ukrainian victims and survivors.

• Prioritize the most vulnerable survivors, including survivors of conflict-related sexual violence, torture, forced transfer and disappearance. These individuals face unique challenges, including severe physical and psychological trauma, social exclusion, and heightened economic vulnerability.

• Prioritize funding to programs and mechanisms that utilize a survivor-centered approach in their design and implementation.

We stand ready to provide technical support to the U.S. government regarding practical avenues to implement urgent interim reparation, reflecting the needs and aspirations of victims and survivors of Russia’s aggression in alignment with Ukrainian government priorities.

Sgd by 50 NGOs

Sources: IPHR, OMCT, REDRESS 

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UNICEF Ukraine Humanitarian Situation Report No. 44, 1 to 30 September 2024

• So far in 2024, 435,033 children, including 215,243 girls, have been reached through UNICEF-supported formal and non-formal education programmes. This includes 76,519 children who have participated in remedial education in 329 student learning support centres.

• Cash for winterization was provided to 47,100 people, including 20,392 children, living within 30km of the frontline in Kharkiv, Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk and Sumy in September. A further 2,432 families in frontline areas have received winter supplies such as solid fuel, winter clothing and blankets to ensure the availability of heating and warmth over the winter months.

• UNICEF has ensured a sufficient quantity and quality of water for drinking and domestic needs for 4,488,452 people this year. In September, UNICEF worked with 20 water utilities to reach an additional 489,423 people, including 82,240 children, with safe water.

• Mental health and psychosocial support was extended to 54,878 people, including 18,396 girls and 17,671 boys, in September for a total of 526,440 people reached this year. This was provided through child-friendly hubs, schools, trained health and social workers, and social and behaviour change campaigns, amongst others.

• In September, UNICEF provided multi-purpose cash assistance to 2,112 households covering 8,366 people, including 3,590 children, affected by increased hostilities and mandatory evacuation in Kharkiv and Donetsk.

Source: UNICEF 

Source: ACAPS

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US says it expects North Korean troops to enter combat against Ukraine in the coming days

As many as 8,000 North Korean troops are in Russia’s Kursk region and are expected to enter combat against Ukraine in the coming days, top US officials announced Thursday.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken, speaking alongside Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and their South Korean counterparts in Washington, said the troops have been trained “in artillery, UAVs, basic infantry operations, including trench clearing, indicating that they fully intend to use these forces in frontline operations.”

Although the US has not yet seen the troops engaged in the actual fighting, Blinken warned Thursday that “should these troops engage in combat or combat support operations against Ukraine, they would become legitimate military targets.”

The 8,000 North Korean troops now in Kursk represent a majority of the 10,000 the US says were deployed to Russia. The announcement of their impending use in combat comes as the US and its allies weigh how to respond to the escalating military partnership between Moscow and Pyongyang.

“We are consulting closely with our allies and partners in other countries in the region on these reckless developments and on our response,” Austin said at Thursday’s press conference. The US will announce additional military support to Ukraine “in the coming days,” Blinken said.

Ukrainian forces have held territory in Kursk since launching a surprise incursion into the Russian border region in August. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who called for South Korea to take a more active role in supporting Kyiv, warned Thursday that when the North Korean troops are deployed, “they will be pushed forward, sustaining heavy losses, as Russia tries to minimize its own troop mobilization.”

Asked if he believed Ukraine would be able to hold its territory in Kursk with the additional North Korean forces deployed to the region, Austin said the “answer is yes.”

Russian troops have suffered heavy losses throughout the more than two years of full-scale war against Ukraine. The US defense secretary noted Thursday that the number of North Korean troops sent to Kursk “pales in comparison” to the number of casualties Russia sees regularly.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Friday praised what he called “very close contacts” with the North Korean military and intelligence services.

“This helps to solve very important tasks for the security of our and your citizens,” Lavrov said at the start of a meeting with his North Korean counterpart Choe Son Hui.

The meeting in Moscow marked the sixth time the Russian and North Korean foreign ministers are meeting this year, according to Lavrov.

On Thursday, Blinken and Austin redoubled their calls for China to use its influence with North Korea to stem its “provocative actions.”

“We’re very focused on and concerned about what Russia might be doing in order to enhance the (North Korean) capacities, its military capacity – that too should be a real concern to China, because it’s profoundly destabilizing in the region,” Blinken noted.

Source: CNN

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North Korea says it will back Russia until it achieves victory

The North Korean foreign minister, Choe Son Hui, said her country will back Russia until it achieves victory in Ukraine during talks in Moscow on Friday with the Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov. She said Pyongyang had no doubt that under Putin’s “wise leadership” Russia will “achieve a great victory in their sacred struggle to protect the sovereign rights and security interests”.

Sergei Lavrov said “very close contacts” have been established between Russian and North Korean militaries, and was “deeply grateful to our Korean friends for their principled position regarding the events that have now unfolded in Ukraine”. Thousands of North Korean troops have recently been sent to Russia, with the US warning that Moscow is preparing to deploy those troops into combat “in the coming days”.

The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, called on Ukraine’s allies to stop “watching” and take action to tackle the presence of North Korean troops in Russia before they start confronting his country in combat. In a video posted on Telegram, he said North Korea had made progress in its military capability, missile deployment and weapons production and “now unfortunately they will learn modern warfare”. “The first thousands of soldiers from North Korea are near the Ukrainian border. Ukrainians will be forced to defend themselves against them,” he said. “And the world will watch again.”

Source: The Guardian

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Ukraine in new mobilisation drive as Russia advances

Ukraine is planning to draft another 160,000 troops into its military as Russia gains ground in the east.

Russia has been advancing in the eastern Donetsk region and on Tuesday said it had fully captured the mining town of Selydove. It also comes amid reports that a number of North Korean troops have been deployed to Russia.

Ukraine's military has been under severe pressure of late, in part due to Russia's greater manpower and deeper resources.

"There are plans to call up more than 160,000 people," the secretary of Ukraine's National Security Council, Oleksandr Lytvynenko, told parliament on Tuesday.

The AFP news agency reports the recruitment will take place over three months.

The announcement comes as Ukraine continues to commit personnel for its incursion in the Kursk region of Russia, which started in August.

The Pentagon estimates around 10,000 North Korean troops have been deployed to train in eastern Russia. The US said on Tuesday a "small number" of North Korean troops have been sent to Kursk. A couple of thousand more are heading there, it said.

South Korea has claimed the troops are being trained in various locations, with many wearing Russian uniforms in order to disguise themselves. A high level government official said they believed up to 11,000 soldiers had already been sent to Russia, with at least 3,000 in the west of the country.

Last week, President Vladimir Putin refused to deny that North Korean troops had arrived in Russia, following reports that Pyongyang was preparing to send thousands of troops to aid its ally.

The latest mobilisation comes after Ukraine's parliament passed legislation in April to help mobilise troops to fight invading Russian forces. The law requires every man aged between 25 and 60 to log their details on an electronic database so they can be called up. Conscription officers are on the hunt for those avoiding the register, pushing more men who do not want to serve into hiding.

The measure is aimed at boosting numbers in the military, which is under severe pressure as Russia continues to make gains in the east.

Moscow has announced that it now controls all of Selydove in the Donetsk region as well as surrounding villages, as it focuses on the city of Pokrovsk. This is a strategically significant transport hub, just 18km (10 miles) away.

Source: BBC

Europe 2029: Eight Policy Priorities for the New European Commission

The Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA) issued an Analysis Paper that outlined a foreign and security policy agenda for the new European Commission, with respect to the way forward in dealing with the Ukraine challenge.  The Paper identified eight tasks.  These are briefly summarized below.

Winning the war in Ukraine, deterring further Russian aggression, and restoring peace and stability across Europe will require constant attention and durable commitments — all the more so because such constancy and durability may not be forthcoming from Washington. The challenge for Brussels is thus multiplied: European leadership is simultaneously more important and more difficult than ever. 

• Task One for the new European Commission must be winning the fiscal war with Russia by overcoming political barriers to consistent financial aid to Ukraine and tightening the screws on Russia’s hydrocarbon revenues. 

The new Commission should encourage member states to prioritize further an irreversible decoupling from Russian hydrocarbons, sapping Gazprom’s already troubled finances8 and allowing Ukraine to sever its gas transit dependency9 once and for all. 

• Because reconstruction must begin long before the war ends if it is to be effective, Task Two is to maintain the pace of humanitarian aid and commit to breaking the back of Ukraine’s accession negotiations by 2029. The Commission must devise more ways to deliver more aid and to deliver it more efficiently. Further, it should not relax its assistance to Ukrainian refugees in EU member states or to the millions of Ukrainians who have become internally displaced persons.

• If Europe is to carry its strategic weight, Task Three must be to begin making good on its arms production promises and deliver stepwise surges in European Union (EU), member-state, and private-sector investment.  The next Commission must invest orders of magnitude more than the initial €8 billion ($8.73 billion) assignation.

• Longer-term stability and prosperity on the continent will hinge on the ability of the new Commission to maintain the pace of Ukraine’s European integration and reinvigorate the EU enlargement process as a whole, comprising Task Four. The EU must prioritize supporting Ukraine’s reformers and civil society, and bolster Moldova’s capacity to withstand hybrid attacks from Russia, particularly in the run-up to its elections.

• As Moscow increasingly pursues gray-zone aggression within Europe itself, Task Five is to build the capacity for rapid identification of hybrid threats and retaliation sufficient to impose deterrence. This will require greater coordination and intelligence sharing among member states and between the EU and NATO.

• Task Six must be to develop and implement a medium-to-long-term policy of containment for Russia. Recognizing that Russia is likely to remain a threat to European peace, stability, and prosperity for years if not decades to come requires a pivot to containment,19 designed not to deepen conflict with Russia, but to ensure that the inexorable conflict that does exist cannot escalate into a more catastrophic war. 

• Considering growing strategic tensions, Task Seven is to begin a concerted process of reviewing and recalibrating the EU’s economic and strategic relationship with China. The new Commission must review its China policy and encourage similar reflections among member state governments, making sure to remain firm in its dialogue with Beijing not just on electric vehicles, but also on Chinese infrastructure and influence operations across the continent, and on its continued support for Russian aggression.

• Finally, Task Eight is to reestablish trust and partnership between Europe and the “global middle ground” to present a more united front against Russia now, and potentially against China in the future. While Europe cannot and should not be in the business of propping up autocrats, it can and must do better in helping the global middle ground obtain fairer trading terms with the West and overcome the impacts of war, pandemic, famine, and climate change.

Achieving these goals will require strategic vision, a clear and unwavering commitment to European interests, and the ability to adapt to an increasingly multipolar world, where Russia remains a persistent threat.

Source: CEPA

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Ukraine’s business environment to improve with World Bank support

The World Bank announced today that a new private sector development program in the amount of $593 million will launch in Ukraine to support 20,000 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and help them create or preserve at least 40,000 jobs through their participation in support programs deployed by the Government of Ukraine since Russia’s invasion.

The Resilient, Inclusive, and Sustainable Enterprise (RISE) Program for Results will improve the efficiency of state support to SMEs with a focus on green competitiveness. The program will enhance the business environment with government-to-business (G2B) digital services and enable SMEs to access export markets. Ukraine’s Ministry of Economy will be responsible for the program execution.

"The RISE Program is part of the World Bank's efforts to support the people and firms of Ukraine amid constant disruptions, power cuts, and labor shortages," said Bob Saum, World Bank Country Director for Eastern Europe. "The program bolsters the Government of Ukraine's focus on private sector development as the primary engine of reconstruction and sustainable growth."

Financing for RISE includes $283 million from the Japan supported ADVANCE Ukraine trust fund, $300 million from the International Development Association (IDA) Special Program for Ukraine and Moldova Recovery, and $10 million from the Ukraine Relief, Recovery, Reconstruction and Reform Trust Fund (URTF). The program is results-based financing that can be scaled-up as additional funds become available.

The program is an integral part of the international support package for Ukraine to meet its financing needs through the end of 2024. Other ongoing projects include emergency operations for health, education, transport, energy, housing, and agriculture that have mobilized partner resources through a flexible design to disburse funds quickly and can be scaled as necessary when additional financing becomes available.

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, World Bank Group-mobilized support has enabled the Government of Ukraine to promote reforms and provide essential services that are reaching more than 15 million Ukrainians. The World Bank Group has facilitated more than $50 billion in financing to support Ukraine, including commitments and pledges from donors including: the United States, Japan, the United Kingdom, Norway, the Netherlands, Spain, Germany, Canada, the Republic of Korea, Switzerland, Sweden, Denmark, Austria, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Indonesia, Lithuania, Latvia, New Zealand, and Belgium.

Source: World Bank

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South Korea’s Emerging Ukraine Involvement

South Korea signaled possible readiness to increase support for Ukraine amid continued Ukrainian intelligence on the deployment of North Korean forces near the Russian border with Ukraine. 

South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul stated on November 1 that "all possible scenarios are under consideration" in response to a question about possibly sending weapons to Ukraine following the deployment of North Korean troops in Russia. Cho emphasized that South Korea will monitor North Korean troop involvement in Russia and the "benefits" that North Korea receives from Russia to determine a course of action.

Ukraine's Main Military Intelligence Directorate (GUR) reported on November 2 that Russian forces transferred 7,000 additional North Korean personnel to unspecified areas near the border with Ukraine in the last week (since about October 26).

The GUR reported that Russian forces have armed North Korean soldiers with heavy weaponry and have equipped North Korean forces with some night vision devices, thermal imagers, and other optical equipment.

Source: ISW

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US and G7 allies moving forward with $50 billion loan package to Ukraine, including $20 billion from the US backed by frozen Russian assets

The US and Western allies are moving forward with a $50 billion loan package to Ukraine backed by the profits of frozen Russian assets, which includes a US contribution of $20 billion

“As part of the G7 package, the United States is announcing today that we will provide $20 billion in loans to Ukraine that will be paid back by the interest earned from immobilized Russian sovereign assets,” President Joe Biden said in a statement formally announcing the package. “In other words, Ukraine can receive the assistance it needs now, without burdening taxpayers.”

The president described the loans as supporting Ukrainians “as they defend and rebuild their country.”

The US will disperse at least half of its $20 billion loan by this December.  The administration plans to use half of the loan for economic assistance and the second half for additional military aid to Kyiv. But the White House will need to secure further authority from Congress to provide parts of the loan as military support.

If the White House cannot reach an agreement with the legislative branch securing the requisite authorities, Singh said that the administration would pivot and instead provide the full loan amount as economic aid.

The other $30 billion in aid will come from the European Union and fellow G7 partners, including the United Kingdom, Canada and Japan.

The US-led campaign to reach an agreement between the other G7 nations — the UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan — was announced at the group’s summit in Puglia, Italy, earlier this year.

In the ensuing months, the US and its allies have ironed out the finer details of executing the complex loan. European lawmakers on Tuesday approved a loan of up roughly $37.7 billion (35 billion euros) for Ukraine backed by the frozen Russian assets.

Further details will be announced following the forthcoming G7 finance ministers meeting, he added.

Western nations froze Russia’s assets in bank accounts located within Europe and the US as part of a massive wave of sanctions enacted after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Hundreds of billions of assets are frozen in Europe, with just a small amount – roughly $3 billion – located in banks in the US.

This originally led European officials to raise concerns they could be on the hook if Ukraine failed to pay back the loan, but negotiators have ultimately structured the deal so all countries participating share the risk.

Should a peace agreement be reached in the conflict, either the Russian assets will stay frozen and generate interest to repay the loans until they’re repaid, or Russia will pay for the damage it has caused.

G7 countries first started thinking of other long-term sources of funding for Ukraine late last year amid doubts on the future political and financial commitment to continue spending taxpayer money in Ukraine.

Source: CNN