Volunteers distribute humanitarian aid at a bomb shelter in Zaporizhzhia, December 25. © KATERYNA KLOCHKO (EFE)
El Pais: Two million Ukrainian civil servants face salary cut-off if Western aid dries up
Ukraine needs the economic lifeline of its Western allies. Without a fresh injection of funds to keep the machinery of state running, Kyiv — which has been at war with Russia for almost 700 days and which devotes a large part of its budget to defense — will be forced to leave up to two million public employees with unpaid salaries and a further million without social benefits in the first quarter of 2024. These are the conclusions of an analysis of the country’s financial situation sent by the government of Volodymyr Zelenskiy to the United States, the European Union and other Western allies, and to which EL PAÍS has had access. Ukraine has urged Washington and Brussels to move forward with aid packages totaling some €100 billion ($110 billion), which remain frozen and pending approval due to political friction in the U.S. Congress and the European Parliament.
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Update #1: Report: Ukraine May Have to Delay Salaries, Pensions Without Foreign Aid (VOA)
Update #2: Possible Delay in Ukrainian Pensions and Salaries if Western Aid Falls Short (Kyiv Post)
WNU Editor: We are talking about the salaries of 500,000 civil servants, 1.4 million teachers, and pensions for 10 million pensioners. If Western aid is not supplied, expect a complete collapse of services by summer, and a new migration of Ukrainians fleeing the country for a better life in the West. The only thing that will be left behind are the soldiers fighting the war, and the old who not able to leave.