WB disburses another $500 mln for Ukraine under UK's guarantees

MOSCOW. Oct 25 (Interfax) - The World Bank (WB) has disbursed another $500 million to Ukraine to support the financing of its core government and urgent spending needs, bringing the amount of funding Ukraine has already received through the WB to $11.4 billion.

"The IBRD [International Bank for Reconstruction and Development] financing is supported by $500 million in loan guarantees from the United Kingdom," Ukrainian media have reported with reference to a WB press release on Tuesday.

The financing has been mobilized under the Public Expenditures for Administrative Capacity Endurance in Ukraine (PEACE) Project, which supports continued government capacity, including the provision of core public services such as health, education, pensions and social protection, it said.

In September, the World Bank, the Ukrainian government, and the European Commission released a document titled the Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment (RDNA), an analysis of Ukraine's reconstruction and recovery needs, estimating the total cost at $349 billion as of June 1, 2022. It said the figure would be growing as the crisis was continuing.

The WB said in its latest economic review that Ukraine's economy is projected to contract by 35% this year and the number of people living in poverty in Ukraine to rise to around 25% by the end of 2022.