Bloomberg: Biden announced plans to write off $4.65 billion of Ukraine’s debts
The outgoing administration of US President Joe Biden has notified the US Congress of its intention to write off Ukraine’s debts totalling $4.65 billion, Bloomberg reports, citing a document at the publication’s disposal.
‘The Biden administration informed Congress that it plans to mark down Ukraine’s $4.65 billion debt… This is the latest in a series of actions to bolster support for Kyiv before President-elect Donald Trump takes office,’ the publication says.
As noted, this refers to a portion of Ukraine’s debt totalling $9 billion, which Kyiv received as part of the $60 billion national security supplemental funding package approved by Congress in April.
According to the text of the document sent to Congress, the cancellation of part of the debt ‘is in the national interests of the United States and its partners in the EU, G7+ and NATO’.
For the second year in a row, Ukraine has drawn up a budget with a record deficit, expecting to cover the bulk of this deficit with the help of Western partners. In 2024, it will amount to $43.9 billion. Meanwhile, in the West, the allocation of new aid packages comes after lengthy discussions. The head of the IMF mission in Ukraine, Gavin Gray, earlier noted that international support for Kyiv will decrease over time, so the country’s authorities need to develop domestic resources for self-financing. Volodymyr Zelenskyy complained about Ukraine’s lack of money for the production of its own weapons and the slow arrival of Western aid.