Ukrainian Finance Minister: More than $42 billion in international aid this year

Ukrainian Finance Minister Sergei Marchenko said on Wednesday that more than $42 billion in international aid flowed into Ukraine's budget this year.

Marchenko continued in statements to the Ukrainian edition of the Forbes channel on YouTube: “We are concluding the budget year with very serious achievements in terms of attracting international aid. To date, we have succeeded in attracting more than $42 billion in international aid to cover budget needs.”

Ukrainian parliamentarian Alexandra Ustinova had said earlier that the gaps in the state budget are being filled with the help of Western funds, and if aid from the United States stops, the authorities will be forced to resort with an outstretched hand to the G7 countries.

At the end of November, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky signed a draft law on Ukraine's state budget for 2024 with a deficit of more than $43 billion.

Lavrov: The Americans can declare “Kiev’s victory” as they did in Libya, Iraq and Afghanistan

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the United States could declare a "Kiev victory" as it did before in Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya.

This came during a press conference between him and his guest, Indian Foreign Minister Subramaniam Jayashankar , on Wednesday, in response to a question from journalists about Ukraine .

The minister responded first about the news being circulated about the conflict between the political and military leadership in the country, which the Russian minister said was “an internal Ukrainian matter on which there is no comment,” but he continued that it was an internal matter for a country that “has lost its independence and is now controlled by others from the outside,” so The minister found it logical that "those who run it from the outside should care about what happens inside it."

Secondly, the minister responded regarding American leaks regarding the West’s intention to freeze the Ukrainian conflict and declare Ukraine “victorious” in the war. The minister said: “We have read these leaks, and we know the capabilities of the West, especially the United States, to declare (victory) as they declared before in Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq.” Which the United States invaded in 2003, and one month later announced the “victory of democracy” in the country.” The minister asked: “Now, after twenty years, where is Iraq?”

The minister continued: "The same applies to Libya, which has also become a focus of interest for NATO countries, in terms of bringing (democracy) also to this country, so they destroyed the country."

Lavrov stressed that “none of the countries that the United States of America used to achieve its interests away from its coasts is in a better position. You can look at the Middle East, look at what is happening in the Gaza Strip in light of Washington’s obstruction for many years of any efforts seeking to establish a Palestinian state.” In accordance with the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council.

The minister gave the example of countries neighboring the United States, saying: “Even if we do not go far from the American coast, there is the country of Haiti, which is one of the poorest countries in the world, which the United States has been trying to help for a hundred years.”

The minister concluded that the Americans' declaration of victory would not be the first, and he concluded his speech by saying: "I think they will declare some sort of victory."