Ukrainian households will lose a quarter of the budget due to higher living costs, World Bank Regional Country Director for Eastern Europe Arup Banerji has said.

"Our own estimates show that the household losses from the income shock and higher cost-of-living will be around 25% of the household budget. Poverty, under the worst-case scenario, may reach as high as 58% in 2023," he said in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine.

This will encourage millions more people (in Ukraine) to receive social assistance, Banerji added.

Despite the significant financial burden on the state budget, Ukraine should avoid drastic cuts in social spending, as this would be disastrous for the beneficiaries of these social protection programs, the World Bank believes.

"This is why the Bank has been supporting, and will continue to support, the Guaranteed Minimum Income program [including through a new $50 million disbursement]," the World Bank regional director said.

He also recalled that the World Bank is preparing to provide Ukraine with a loan of almost $100 million as part of the redistribution of loan funds to support the IDP assistance program for the period of martial law.