Ukraine gets $1.5b in grant aid from US

KYIV -- Ukraine received $1.5 billion in grant aid from the United States mobilized by the World Bank, the Ukrainian Finance Ministry said Friday on Facebook.

The funding is the first tranche of the additional grant financing worth $4.5 billion provided by the US government to Ukraine under the World Bank's Public Expenditures for Administrative Capacity Endurance in Ukraine project, the ministry said.

The financing will be used for paying pensions for the elderly, social assistance, covering expenditures on medical services, and other payments, it said.

The World Bank has mobilized close to $17.8 billion in emergency financing to support Ukraine amid the economic impacts of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, according to the bank's website.

Out of this sum, 11.4 billion of financing has been disbursed.