Sergii Marchenko: Since February 2022, Ukraine has received EUR 1.6 billion in direct budget support from Germany

Today, on May 3, Minister of Finance of Ukraine Sergii Marchenko met with members of the Budget Committee of the German Bundestag. In particular with Member of the Bundestag from the Social Democratic Party Andreas Schwarz, Member of the Bundestag from the Free Democratic Party Karsten Klein and Member of the Bundestag fromThe Alliance 90/The Greens Sebastian Schäfer. 

The meeting was also attended by the First Deputy Minister of Finance of Ukraine Denys Uliutin and Deputy Minister of Finance Olga Zykova.  

The parties discussed the current state of Ukraine's financial system, priority State Budget expenditures for the current year and 2025, and the use of frozen russian assets for the needs of Ukraine.

"Thanks to the financial assistance provided by international donors from the very first days of the full-scale war, the Government of Ukraine was able to finance its priority budget expenditures in a timely manner and in full. Germany is a reliable partner of Ukraine in the military, financial and humanitarian spheres. As the Minister of Finance, I am particularly grateful for the direct budget support totaling EUR 1.6 billion, of which EUR 1.3 billion was provided in the form of grants. This allowed us to avoid an additional debt burden on the financial system of Ukraine in the face of uncertainty," said Sergii Marchenko. 

Regarding the key budgetary needs, the Minister of Finance emphasized that the timely financing of the defense and security expenditures is an absolute priority. At the same time, the support of our partners is crucial for the financing of the social and humanitarian sphere and for the rapid recovery, in particular of the critical and energy infrastructure.  

In this context, it was emphasized that the frozen russian assets should become an additional resource for Ukraine in its economic recovery and stable financing of priority budget expenditures for 2025 and beyond.

Cooperation with the Government of Germany is also crucial to support energy efficiency and the rapid recovery and reconstruction of damaged critical infrastructure. 

"Due to russia's systematic energy terror, we especially appreciate Germany's support in ensuring the stability of the energy sector and the safe passage of the heating season. In particular, within the framework of the projects of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the KfW, Ukraine has received more than EUR 220 million in grants, loans and guarantees from Germany for the needs of the energy sector," added Sergii Marchenko.