Today at 12:31
The United States, Sweden, Switzerland, the U.K. and Canada have launched the Partnership Fund for a Resilient Ukraine worth GBP 35 million, Interfax informs.
“Today, we are launching the Partnership Fund for a Resilient Ukraine. This is not another work and not another beginning. This is what is very important for us today – public support and trust of both partners and each other. We understand how important it is and, most importantly, it is timely to start such projects right here, right now. It is important for our people in the east and south of the country, it is important for all Ukrainians to know and believe that we are not alone, we stand shoulder to shoulder,” Deputy Prime Minister for Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine Iryna Vereschuk said at an event devoted to the announcement of the Partnership Fund for a Resilient Ukraine in Kyiv on Wednesday.
She said that the fund has GBP 35 million at the start for the first projects that will be sent to communities, their sustainability, people who need support from both the state and the international community.
“On my own behalf, as Deputy Prime Minister, I can promise: every pound, every invested energy and motivation will be used effectively. We will do our best to make our efforts bear fruit this year,” Vereschuk said.
Ambassador of the United Kingdom to Ukraine Melinda Simmons said that the partners, along with the government of Ukraine through this fund, are committed to supporting the victims of Russian aggression in eastern Ukraine. The U.K. will contribute GBP 11.5 million to the fund over three years, she said.
Swedish Minister for International Development Cooperation Matilda Ernkrans said that the Partnership Fund for a Resilient Ukraine would make its contribution to strengthening Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression.
Ernkrans said that she hopes that this fund will fill the gap in support for Ukraine and we will be able to respond quickly, flexibly to the needs that Ukrainians will have in such difficult circumstances caused by Russian aggression against Ukraine.
U.S. Chargé d’Affaires, ai Kristina A. Kvien announced that the United States, through USAID, intends to increase its contribution to the fund from $5 million to $10 million.
Kvien said that her government unwaveringly supports a strong, prosperous, secure Ukraine within its borders. This project provides an important pathway to that goal. Ukraine has the full support of the U.S. government and the entire U.S. Embassy team in Kyiv to make this a reality, she said.
Canadian Ambassador to Ukraine Larisa Galadza said that Canada is providing between CAD 10 million and CAD 15 million to the fund to contain the escalation.
She said that Canada is teaming up with national, regional and local institutions, as well as civil society, to focus on the needs of people, their communities, build trust and social cohesion.
Swiss Ambassador to Ukraine Claude Wild said that despite the fact that everyone is now focused on the threat on the border of Ukraine, there is a reality of conflict, Russian occupation and hybrid warfare that affects Ukrainians.
Sweden’s partnership primarily addresses this reality by providing Ukrainians in the most affected regions with the means to consolidate their communities and build a future based on the values of freedom and democracy – values that must prevail throughout Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders, he said. Security and stability Ukraine is our security and stability, Wild added.
