Ukraine received over $41 billion in international aid in 2024, finance minister says

The Ukrainian Finance Ministry received $41.7 billion in international aid in 2024, Finance Minister Serhii Marchenko said in a televized statement on Dec. 30.

The international aid helped Ukraine to ensure full social payments amid significant defense expenditures, he said.

“This year, we have already secured $41.7 billion in aid from our partners, which allowed us to fully fund pensions, salaries in the education and healthcare sectors, and the entire humanitarian-social system,” Marchenko said.

On Dec. 25, in response to Russia’s mass attack on the country on Christmas Day, President Joe Biden directed the Pentagon to “continue its surge” of weapons deliveries to Ukraine.

On Dec. 27, the Associated Press (AP) reported, citing unnamed U.S. officials, that the U.S. is planning to send $1.25 billion in military aid to Ukraine. Officials said the announcement is expected to come on Dec. 30.

Also on Dec. 27, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said that the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), in coordination with the World Bank under the PEACE in Ukraine program, has delivered $485 million in humanitarian aid for Ukraine.

“The funds will be allocated to compensate for social and humanitarian expenditures in the state budget,” Shmyhal said.

Ukraine ends year battered, with Russian troops pushing north, east, and south

The entire year 2024 saw Ukrainian troops on the back foot, losing territory to the advancing Russian troops in northeastern Kharkiv Oblast and eastern Donetsk Oblast. Russia captured Avdiivka — an industrial city in Donetsk Oblast — in February, kickstarting Moscow’s offensives all across the regi…

The Kyiv IndependentAsami Terajima