Ukraine gets 500 mln euros tranche of new EU aid package, same amount expected Tues

MOSCOW. Aug 1 (Interfax) - Ukraine has received 500 million euros of macro-financial aid from the European Union and anticipates another tranche of the same amount on Tuesday, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said.

"The European Union has sent Ukraine 1 billion euros of exceptional macro-financial assistance. The first tranche of 500 million euros has already been credited to the NBU [National Bank of Ukraine] account. We expect the second tranche to arrive tomorrow," Ukrainian media quoted Shmyhal as saying on Telegram.

He said the funds would help to finance priority budgetary needs.

The European Commission said in a statement that it is allocating 500 million euros as the first half of the first tranche of the European Union's macro-financial assistance (MFA) of 1 billion euros to Ukraine. The second part of 500 million euros will be paid on Tuesday, August 2.

"This 1-billion-euro- payment is the first part of our 9-billion-euro macro-financial assistance package to help Ukraine meet its emergency financial needs," the statement quoted Executive Vice President of the European Commission Valdis Dombrovskis as saying.

"At the same time, we are working closely with EU member states and our international partners on the next steps to rebuild Ukraine for the longer term," Dombrovskis said.

"The EU will provide all political, financial, military and humanitarian support required to assist Ukraine and its people [...] - for as long as it takes," he said.

"The MFA funds have been made available to Ukraine in the form of long-term loans on favorable terms," the statement said.

The EU approved the disbursement of a first tranche of new macro-financial assistance for Ukraine in July. The whole program is worth around 9 billion euros.

This is the EU's seventh MFA program for Ukraine. The last tranche of 1.2 billion euros under the sixth program was disbursed in May.