U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken announced that the United States will provide Ukraine with an additional $1.3 billion in aid to help Kyiv rebuild its war-torn economy and strengthen its democracy, Voice of America reports.
Speaking at a conference on assistance to Ukraine in London, Blinken said that the United States would provide Ukraine with more than $520 million to modernize the energy network, more than half of which was destroyed by Russia.
According to him, this will make Ukraine's energy sector "cleaner," more sustainable and more integrated with Europe.
"We will support reforms of Ukraine's energy market to fight monopolies and stimulate private investment, which will allow Ukraine to become an energy exporter," Blinken said.
He also added that the US will also provide $657 million to modernize border crossings, rail lines, ports and other critical infrastructure that connect the country to Europe.
This will allow it to exchange a larger volume of goods, more efficiently and using new routes.
"We will provide an additional $100 million to digitize Ukraine's customs and other systems to improve speed and reduce corruption," said the U.S. diplomat. "We are also committing $35 million to help Ukrainian businesses and entrepreneurs through financing and insurance, which will reduce the risks for investors in Ukraine.
The new package will complement the $20 billion in economic and development assistance that the United States has pledged to help Ukrainian workers, businesses, and utilities affected by the 16-month conflict.
It will also complement the more than $2.1 billion in U.S. humanitarian aid provided to Ukraine and the region in response to Russia's aggressive war.
Blinken made it clear that eventually Russia will have to bear the cost of rebuilding Ukraine.
"Let's be clear: Russia is the cause of the destruction in Ukraine. And Russia will eventually pay for Ukraine's recovery," he said. "Until then, we will support the Ukrainian people as they make the greatest sacrifices to defend, rebuild and redefine their country.
Background. As reported, at a conference on rebuilding Ukraine in London, the US and the EU together pledged more than $4 billion to Ukraine.