Zelensky: Ukraine needs up to $7 bln in monthly support
The Russian military are aimed at destroying all facilities in Ukraine that can serve as an economic base for life, Ukraine needs support of up to $7 billion monthly, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said via video link at the ministerial roundtable in support of Ukraine as part of the Spring Meetings 2022 of the World Bank and the IMF.
"Currently, we need up to $7 billion every month to compensate for economic losses. And we will need hundreds of billions of dollars to restore all this later. I am sure that all of you have seen these calculations," Zelensky said.
Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, who spoke at the meeting, stressed that Russia is destroying the economic potential of Ukraine: all types of infrastructure are now being subjected to massive strikes, both air and artillery. According to him, Russia's tactic is also to create a migration crisis: many settlements are completely destroyed, and Mariupol, unfortunately, is just one example, since there are Volnovakha, Kharkiv, Borodianka and many other cities. As a result, 12 million people were forced to leave their homes.
The head of government noted that Ukraine's GDP this year could fall by 30-50%, and a preliminary analysis of direct and indirect losses due to the war already gives an indicator of $560 billion
"If we don't stop this together, then the losses will increase. In March, 60% of enterprises completely or partially stopped working. In April, the budget will be only 50% of the usual," Shmyhal said.
According to him, the budget requires monthly support from $4 billion to $5 billion.
The prime minister added that there are also environmental risks, citing mines and the Chornobyl nuclear power plant as an example.