US urges more financial help for war-torn Ukraine

BRUSSELS

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen urged the European Union and other partners on Tuesday to increase financial support for war-torn Ukraine.

Speaking at the Brussels Economic Forum, Yellen said the US and its international partners including the EU “need to extend our cooperation to boosting support for Ukraine.”

She explained that the country’s need for immediate financing is “significant” since the government “needs budget funding to pay soldiers, employees, and pensioners, as well as to operate an economy that meets its citizens' basic needs” until tax collection can resume.

The US official said the country will need “massive support and private investment” for the reconstruction after the end of its war with Russia, which should be similar to the US Marshall Plan for Western Europe.

Yellen stressed that “even in the short term” the support pledged so far by the international community “will not be sufficient to address Ukraine’s needs.”

She recalled that US President Joe Biden presented a new plan on providing an additional $33 billion in security, economic, and humanitarian aid to the US Congress, and urged partners to join the US efforts.

Yellen praised the cooperation between the US, EU, and other partners in imposing an “unprecedented suite of financial sanctions and export controls on Russia.”

She said together they will “push Russia further towards economic, financial, and strategic isolation” if Russian President Vladimir Putin continues his “heinous war of choice.”

“Our joint efforts are critical to ensure Ukraine’s democracy prevails over Putin’s aggression,” Yellen asserted.

Russia’s war on Ukraine has left thousands dead or wounded, and forced more than 6 million people to flee abroad.

Moscow calls its actions a “special military operation” to “demilitarize” and “denazify” Ukraine. For Western countries, however, it is a war of aggression and they have imposed severe sanctions in response.

According to Kiel Institute for the World Economy’s Ukraine Support Tracker, as of May 2, the US remains the largest current supporter of Ukraine, with the equivalent of 10.3 billion euros since the end of January. All EU countries combined, including funds pledged by EU institutions and the European Investment Bank, total 12.8 billion euros.

The tracker lists and quantifies military, financial and humanitarian aid promised by governments to Ukraine since Jan. 24. It focuses on support from 31 Western governments, specifically the G7 and EU member countries.