- Lewandowski treble powers Liga leaders Barca to Alaves victory
- Russian activist killed on front line in Ukraine
- Openda strike briefly sends Leipzig top of Bundesliga
- Goal-shy Man Utd have to 'step up', says Ten Hag
- India bowl out Bangladesh for 127 in T20 opener
- Madueke rescues Chelsea in draw with 10-man Forest
- Beckett's belief rewarded as Bluestocking storms to Arc glory
- Trump on the stump, Harris hits airwaves in razor-edge US election
- Flash flooding kills three in northern Thailand
- Kaur leads India to victory over Pakistan in Women's T20 World Cup
- Juventus held by Cagliari after late penalty drama
- In France's Marseille, teen 'stabbed 50 times' then burned alive
- Ruthless Gauff beats Muchova in straight sets to win China Open
- India restrict Pakistan to 105-8 in Women's T20 World Cup
- England target repeat of Pakistan Test whitewash
- Penrith Panthers win fourth straight NRL title after downing Storm
- Weary Sinner happy for day off after battling into Shanghai last 16
- Pakistan's Masood warns England still a force without Stokes
- Madrid's Carvajal to miss several months after serious knee injury
- Two elephants die in flash flooding in northern Thailand
- Sabalenka targets world number one and Wuhan hat-trick
- Tunisia votes with Saied set for re-election
- Bagnaia sets 'example' with Japan MotoGP win to cut gap on Martin
- Intense Israeli bombing rocks Beirut ahead of war anniversary
- Mozambique vote: no suspense but some disillusion
- Austrian rapper channels anti-racist rage in Romani hip-hop songs
- Ohtani magic powers Dodgers over Padres in MLB playoff thriller
- Five of the best: Pakistan-England Test thrillers
- Man sets arm on fire as marches across US mark Gaza war anniversary
- Vietnam's young coffee entrepreneurs brew up a revolution
- Trump rallies at site of failed assassination: 'Never quit'
- Too hot by day, Dubai's floodlit beaches are packed at night
- Is music finally reckoning with #MeToo?
- Fans hail Trump's 'guts' as he returns to site of rally shooting
- Lebanon state media says Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Miami on track for MLS record points after win in Toronto
- Monaco take top spot in Ligue 1 with win at Rennes
- Madrid beat Villarreal to level Liga leaders Barca
- Thuram treble fires Inter past Torino and up to second
- 'Fight': defiant Trump jets in to site of rally shooting
- Mexico City's new mayor sworn in with pledges on water, housing
- Israel on alert ahead of Hamas attack anniversary
- Guardians maul Tigers in MLB playoff series opener
- Macron criticises Israel on Gaza, Lebanon operations
- French rugby player whistled but 'serene' on return amid ongoing rape case
- Retegui hat-trick fires five-star Atalanta to hammering of Genoa
- Heavyweights Australia, England off to World Cup winning starts
- Visiting UN refugee agency chief decries 'terrible crisis' in Lebanon
- Spinners come to party as England defeat Bangladesh at T20 World Cup
- Search continues for missing in deadly Bosnia floods
Financial aid for Ukraine critical to keep services working
As the crisis worsens in Ukraine, humanitarian and security aid is flowing into the country, but financial support to keep the government running also is critical.
"The economy is collapsing," said Adnan Mazarei of the Peterson Institute for International Economics, a think tank based in Washington.
With Kyiv unable to access tax revenue, "it is absolutely crucial for the international community to provide quick assistance not only for humanitarian purposes, but also to keep some of the basic government functions," he said.
And with a flood of refugees leaving the country in the face of Russia's invasion, often taking their savings with them, the banking sector also needs support, Mazarei said.
Of the $13.6 billion in aid expected to be released by Washington this week, $1.8 billion is earmarked to ensure "continuity of government," prevent cyberattacks and support the energy sector, according to the bill introduced in the US Congress.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) board is meeting on Wednesday and expected to approve a $1.4 billion emergency package for Kyiv.
The World Bank already released nearly $500 million of what is expected to be a $3 billion package of aid, dubbed the "Financing of Recovery from Economic Emergency in Ukraine," or "FREE Ukraine."
These sums are significant compared to the size of Ukraine's economy, valued at $155.5 billion at the end of 2020, according to World Bank data.
The IMF already had an ongoing $2.2 billion program with the government that was expected to end in June.
- Money without conditions -
But IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said late Tuesday that since the start of Moscow's military assault, the focus has shifted "from 'reforms' to 'crisis management.'"
The additional IMF funding, under its Rapid Financing Instrument, fast-tracks aid and imposes few conditions.
The same is true for the World Bank.
Axel van Trotsenburg, the World Bank's chief of operations, stressed in an interview with Sky News on Wednesday that the government desperately needs "budgetary resources to pay pensioners, to pay the salaries of civil servants, to keep the health system going."
But experts caution that the aid likely will not be enough to avoid a major economic crisis in the country which -- even before the Russian invasion -- was among the poorest countries in Europe.
"The flows of money can never really replace the losses in output," said Homi Kharas, an economist at the Brookings Institution in Washington, noting in particular the shutdown of trade.
"Money can help to reduce the impact of that a bit, but certainly will not be able to offset it."
Mazarei said the international community needs to prepare for the post-conflict period and the impact of the war on neighboring countries as well.
"Even when this war stops, even if the Russians just turn around and leave, there is a huge issue of the reconstruction of Ukraine," he said.
H.Silva--PC