US Provides Ukraine With $1.35bn Grant for Social Wages

Ukraine received a $1.35 billion grant from the US to cover social and humanitarian payments, including salaries for teachers and other school staff.

The funds were allocated to the stas ate budget directly through the World Bank’s Public Expenditures for Administrative Capacity Endurance (PEACE) Project, according to a Wednesday press release by Ukraine’s Minister of Finance.

“Since February 2022, direct budget support from the United States has reached $28.2 billion, marking the largest financial assistance to Ukraine from any country in the world.

“I am grateful to the leadership and taxpayers of the United States for this critically needed assistance amid the full-scale war,” Ukraine’s Ministry of Finance Serhiy Marchenko said in the press release.

The US provided the grant through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in coordination with the US Department of the Treasury and the US Department of State.

The US is set to allocate $7.8 billion in 2024 as part of the $61 billion aid package approved in April 2024, out of which $5.2 billion has been disbursed.

Ukraine’s Ministry of Finance added that USAID’s State-Owned Enterprises Reform Activity (SOERA) and accounting firm KPMG are tasked with monitoring the US government’s use of direct budget support.

The press release said accounting firm PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Ukraine is tasked with “[verifying] eligible government expenditures made by Ukraine under the PEACE in Ukraine project.”

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