According to CNN, Ukrainian Finance Minister Sergii Marchenko has announced that Ukraine has received the first tranche of $2.7 billion from a new program with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) called the Extended Fund Facility (EFF).
The IMF approved a new four-year extended arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) of approximately USD 15.6 billion as part of a total support package worth USD 115 billion for Ukraine on Friday.
The goal of the program announced by IMF is to “anchor policies that sustain fiscal, external, price and financial stability and support economic recovery, while enhancing governance and strengthening institutions to promote long-term growth in the context of post-war reconstruction and Ukraine’s path to EU accession,” as per the CNN report. The program also helps Ukraine to have “more ambitious structural reforms.”
On March 31, IMF in a statement said, “The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved today a 48-month extended arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) with an amount of SDR 11.6 billion (577 per cent of quota or about US$15.6 billion). This arrangement is part of a US$115 billion total support package for Ukraine. The Executive Board’s decision allows the immediate disbursement of around SDR 2 billion (or US$2.7 billion).”
Meanwhile, Norway and Denmark will cooperate to provide 8,000 artillery rounds to Ukraine, CNN reported citing the Norwegian government’s statement. The Norwegian government in a statement said, “Norway donates the shells, while Denmark donates the associated fuzes, propellant bags and primer cartridges.” This comes amid the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky took to Twitter to express his gratitude to the Danish and Norwegian governments for their announcement. In his tweet, he thanked them for the joint initiative to transfer an additional batch of artillery shells to Ukraine and emphasized the importance of timely military assistance from partners in bringing their joint victory closer. The tweet also mentioned the respective leaders of the Danish and Norwegian governments, Statsmin and Jonas Gahr Støre.
According to CNN, Polish President’s foreign affairs adviser Marcin Przydacz said in an interview with Polish radio RMF FM that “several” MiG-29 fighter aircraft have been delivered to Ukraine by Poland. This comes after Poland had announced on March 16 that they would be sending the aircraft, which were going to be decommissioned by their air force.
At that time, Polish President Andrzej Duda said that Poland is still using Mi-29 aircraft in the defence of Polish airspace, as per the CNN report. Duda said that Poland can announce with confidence that Warsaw will send MiGs to Ukraine.
