European development bank raises additional $1.1B in aid for Ukraine

By Aysu Bicer

ANKARA (AA) – The European development bank on Thursday raised €1 billion ($1.1 billion) in aid for Ukraine, on top of the €2 billion ($2.1 billion) resilience package, the bank's president said.

"Ukraine needs our help to support vital infrastructure and liquidity for the municipality. We will help companies including pharmaceutical manufacturers," Odile Renaud-Basso, the head of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), said on the sidelines of the bank's annual meeting in Morocco.

"We have a clear strategy to support SMEs which moved away from Ukraine. And we're supporting the private sector," she added.

The EBRD already committed an initial €2 billion resilience package to help citizens, firms and countries affected by the war in Ukraine.

At least 3,496 civilians have been killed and 3,760 others injured in Ukraine since Russia launched the war on its neighbor on Feb. 24, according to UN estimates. The true toll is believed to be much higher.

Nearly 6 million people have fled to other countries, with some 7.7 million people internally displaced, according to the UN refugee agency.