WASHINGTON, March 8, 2022 (BSS/AFP) - The World Bank on Monday approved an
additional $489-million package in support for Ukraine, to be made available
immediately and dubbed "Financing of Recovery from Economic Emergency in
Ukraine," or "FREE Ukraine."

   On March 1, the Washington-based institution announced it was preparing
emergency aid worth $3 billion for Ukraine, of which at least $350 million
were to be released immediately. The board of directors decided to disburse
an even larger amount on Monday.

   "The package approved by the Board consists of a supplemental loan for
$350 million and guarantees in the amount of $139 million," it said in a
statement.

   "The fast-disbursing support will help the government provide critical
services to Ukrainian people, including wages for hospital workers, pensions
for the elderly, and social programs for the vulnerable," it said.

   The bank said it was "also mobilizing grant financing of $134 million and
parallel financing of $100 million, resulting in total mobilized support of
$723 million."

   The World Bank specified that the Netherlands and Sweden were both
contributing significant sums to the package, providing up to $89 million and
$50 million dollars respectively.

   The lender said it has also set up a "multi-donor trust fund (MDTF) to
facilitate channeling grant resources from donors to Ukraine, with
contributions from the UK, Denmark, Latvia, Lithuania, and Iceland in the
amount of $134 million thus far."

   It called on members to provide other grants to beef up funding.

   Twelve days of war have left hundreds of civilians dead and thousands more
injured in Ukraine.

   More than 1.7 million people have fled the country since the start of the
Russian invasion on February 24, more than half of whom have taken refuge in
Poland, according to UN tallies.