The World Bank (WB) announced the immediate suspension of all its aid programs in Russia and Belarus, in response to the invasion of Ukraine.
“Following the invasion of Ukraine and hostilities against the Ukrainian people, the World Bank Group stopped all its programs in Russia and Belarus with immediate effect”, announced the institution in a statement.
In Belarus, the World Bank was involved in 11 projects totaling some US$1.15 billion; while in Russia, it had four projects totaling US$370 million, according to its website.
In addition, the institution underlined in the document that it had not approved “no new loans or investments in Russia since 2014″, when the Russian annexation of Crimea occurred.
“There are also no new loans approved in favor of Belarus since mid-2020″, he specified.
Russian President Vladimir Putin launched an invasion of Ukraine last week, drawing outrage from the West as economic sanctions mounted from Europe and North America.
On Tuesday, the World Bank had announced that it was preparing an emergency aid of US$ 3,000 million in favor of Ukraine, of which at least US$ 350 million could be unlocked as of this week.
Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is also planning additional aid for Ukraine of US$2.2 billion, which must be unlocked by the end of June.
Source: Gestion
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