Mar 10, 2022:The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved emergency funding of $ 1.4bn for Ukraine, as it fights a Russian invasion.

This comes as the IMF predicts that Ukraine will see a deep recession this year. More than 2 million people are expected to flee the country since the war began two weeks ago. Earlier this week, the World Bank approved a $732 million financial package for Ukraine and is planning further economic assistance in the coming months.

“The Russian military invasion of Ukraine has been responsible for a massive humanitarian and economic crisis,” IMF Managinf Director Kristalina Georgieva said.

“The tragic loss of life, huge refugee flows, and immense destruction of infrastructure and productive capacity is causing severe human suffering and will lead to a deep recession this year. Financing needs are large, urgent, and could rise significantly as the war continues,” she added.

The funds will be disbursed under IMF’s Rapid Financing Instrument. This means it will largely come without conditions that are usually placed on borrower countries. Vladyslav Rashkovan, Ukraine’s alternate executive director at the IMF, reportedly gave an emotional speech at the board meeting about the devastation caused by the war and its effect on the country’s people.

His remarks were met with spontaneous applause, a rare event at such meetings.

The IMF funding comes on top of the World Bank’s $723 million economic package, which was announced earlier this week. The package consisted of grants and loans, including a 100 million pledge from the UK. The World Bank said it was working on a $3 billion aid package for the coming months.

It also promised additional assistance to neighboring countries, which are taking an estimated 2 million refugees fleeing Ukraine – most of them women, children and the elderly.

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