Interfax-Ukraine
News about recent political developments in Ukraine, key Ukrainian economic news and major current events in the CIS and the rest of the world.
President of European Commission announces new MFA package to support Ukraine.
President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen announced that the European Union will provide a new package of financial assistance to support Ukraine.
She made the announcement on Monday on her Twitter page.
"The EU stands by Ukraine. We are firm in our resolve. I am announcing a new financial assistance package, made of emergency loans and grants, to support Ukraine in the medium and long-term," the president of the European Commission said.
In a statement spread by the European Commission, von der Leyen recalled that last Friday, she spoke with President Zelensky "to assess the situation in Ukraine created by Russia's aggressive actions."
"We discussed how the EU could continue to support Ukraine, both in the immediate and medium term… Today, I am announcing a new financial assistance package to the country made of both emergency loans and grants. First, the Commission proposes a new emergency macro-financial assistance package (MFA) of EUR 1.2 billion. This package will help Ukraine now to address its financing needs due to the conflict," she said.
She expressed hope that the Council and the European Parliament to adopt this emergency MFA as soon as possible.
"We will then proceed to the rapid disbursement of a first tranche of EUR 600 million. Moreover, we will soon start work on a second, longer-term MFA programme to support the country's modernisation efforts. Second, the Commission will almost double its bilateral assistance to Ukraine in grants this year: Another EUR 120 million will be allocated. This support will strengthen Ukraine's state-building and resilience efforts," she said.
She also said that the European Commission will continue to invest in the country's future, "thanks to our Investment Plan for the country."
"This plan aims to leverage over EUR 6 billion in investments. Let me be clear once more: Ukraine is a free and sovereign country. It makes its own choices. The EU will continue to stand by its side," von der Leyen said.
Brazil's participation in first Global Peace Summit important for Ukraine – Zelenskyy.
Ukraine is interested in the active participation of Brazil and, in particular, President Lula da Silva in the first Global Peace Summit to be held in Switzerland in June, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an interview with Brazilian...
German Vice Chancellor Habeck visits Mykolaiv region.
A delegation from Germany headed by Federal Vice-Chancellor, Minister of Economy and Climate Protection Robert Habeck visited Mykolaiv region on Friday and held a meeting with head of Mykolaiv Regional Military Administration Vitaliy Kim.
Enemy continues to shell Kherson region, one person killed.
Russian troops continued to shell Kherson region during the day, one person was killed, and there is also destruction of critical and private infrastructure, said head of the Regional Military Administration Oleksandr Prokudin.
Two enemy guided airstrikes, three reconnaissance aircraft eliminated – Air Forces.
At night, the defense forces eliminated two enemy X-59/X-69 aircraft missiles launched from the Black Sea, as well as three reconnaissance drones, the Air Force reported.
SBU, GUR, SOF organize attack on Russia’s energy infrastructure, objects in eight regions hit at night – source.
A large-scale attack by unmanned aerial vehicles on energy facilities in eight regions of the Russian Federation is a joint operation of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), the Main Intelligence Agency (GUR) and Special Operations Forces (SOF) ...
Zimbabwe mine turns dumpsite into solar station
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Tory MP investigated over alleged misuse of party funds.
A Conservative MP has been suspended by the parliamentary party while it investigates claims he misused campaign funds. Mark Menzies is alleged to have used thousands of pounds given by donors to fund medical expenses, according to The Times. He i...
Watch Business Live with Ian King: Annual car insurance bills leave drivers deterred from claiming.
Join Ian King as he tackles the biggest business and economic stories, with reports and interviews live from our studios in the heart of London. On the show this morning... MPs are told that the average annual car insurance bill is now so high tha...
Live: The Will Cain Show - Thursday, Apr. 18
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What's next in Trump hush money trial as it enters Day 3 of jury selection.
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911 outages affecting several states overnight
Potentially thousands of people who tried to dial 911 Wednesday night were left helpless as an outage across parts of four different states — including the entire state of South Dakota — impacted callers. Outages were also reported in Nevada, Texa...