On March 1, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva and World Bank Group (WB) President David Malpass released a statement on the war in Ukraine.
"People are being killed, injured and forced to flee, the country's infrastructure is being massively damaged. We stand with the Ukrainian people during horrifying developments," the statement reads.
It notes that the war also creates significant indirect impacts on other countries. Commodity prices are rising, which could lead to further acceleration of inflation. Disruptions in financial markets will continue to worsen. The sanctions announced over the last few days will also have a significant economic impact on the rest of the world.
"Our institutions are working together to support Ukraine on the financing and policy fronts and are urgently increasing that support." the heads of the IMF and the WB stated.
The IMF is responding to Ukraine's $1.4 emergency funding request through a Rapid Financing Instrument that the Fund's Board could consider as early as next week.
In addition, the IMF continues to work on Ukraine’s Stand-By program, under which $2.2 billion is available until the end of June.
The WB Group is preparing a $3 billion support package in the coming months, starting with a fast-disbursing budget operation of at least $350 million that will be submitted to the WB Board for approval this week. After that, $200 million could be allocated to support health care and education.
