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- Ukraine’s Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said Ukraine needs up to $5 billion monthly for its war effort.
- Shmyhal highlighted the need for weapons and medical support in particular.
- He noted that massive costs were also building up for humanitarian support for Ukrainian refugees.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal says the country needs up to $5 billion every month to keep the war effort afloat.
Speaking to CBS host Margaret Brennan on Sunday’s installment of “Face the Nation,” Shmyhal outlined what was needed for Ukraine’s war effort and what it would cost.
“The big battle for Donbas (began) five to four days ago,” said Shmyhal. “We see it because of (the) quantity of casualties from both sides.”
“But our soldiers are staying on their positions, protecting, and we will do it. We have support from our partners in (the) military sphere, in (the) financial sphere,” Shmyhal said.
He added that Ukraine needed two key things — arms and ammo and medical supplies.
“First of all, we need weapons. The second issue is medical support. But many countries support us in this medical sphere because they take our injured soldiers and take for them rehabilitation,” Shmyhal said, adding that funds were also needed for humanitarian aid for civilians.
He also affirmed Brennan’s suggestion that up to $5 billion would be needed every month to keep Ukraine going — and that, at the moment, the money has been secured with pledges from allies.
“We have many negotiations with G20 countries, their ministers of finances of these countries, the international financial organization, IMF, World Bank,” Shmyhal told Brennan.
However, he noted that costs are also mounting for the millions of Ukrainians suffering on the frontlines and civilians who left their homes and are running out of food, water, and medicine.
“For example, in March, we spent $1.1 billion only for seven million internally displaced persons,” Shmyhal said. “But now, after (the) liberation of some territories of Ukraine, we need to also support by finances, by technologies for mine cleaning activity, because more than 120,000 square miles are under mining and bombs.”
The US has committed over a billion dollars in aid to Ukraine. The Biden administration recently announced aid packages for Ukraine on Thursday and April 14, along with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s pledge of $500 million to fund the country’s administration.
When Shmyhal was asked if he had three weeks to wait for Congress to sign off on funds, he told Brennan that the clock was ticking for Ukraine.
“We count every minute, every hour, not every day — not every week or month — because every minute and every hour soldiers, civilians, children, women are dying,” Shmyhal said. “Because of this, we need faster decisions.”
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