Ukraine hopes for Germany’s help in getting 8bn euros from EUUkraine hopes for Germany’s help in getting 8bn euros from EU

Kiev, Aug 9 (IANS) Ukraine is hoping for Germany’s assistance in receiving 8 billion euros (about $8.17 billion) in aid from the European Union (EU), Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said.

“Germany will help Ukraine quickly receive the next 8 billion euros of macro-financial assistance from the EU and will take the lead in this process,” Shmyhal wrote on Facebook this Monday after online talks with German Finance Minister Christian Lindner.

Since the start of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Germany has provided significant financial aid for Kiev, he said, without giving exact figures, Xinhua news agency reported.

Kiev is also counting on Germany’s support in the efforts to postpone Ukraine’s foreign debt payments and launch a new cooperation programme with the International Monetary Fund, the Ukrainian Prime Minister added.

On June 24, the European Commission announced plans to issue up to 9 billion euros in loans to support Ukraine under a new exceptional Macro-Financial Assistance (MFA) program.

In early August, Ukraine received 1 billion euros of the aid package in two tranches.

–IANS

int/khz/