Minister Marchenko: Now is not the time to postpone any support to Ukraine

“It’s not charity to support Ukraine. We are trying to protect freedom and democracy of all the civilized world,” Minister of Finance of Ukraine Serhiy Marchenko told The Associated Press in an interview.

Marchenko said financial support for Ukraine is tiny compared to what developed countries spent to combat emergencies like the global financial crisis of 2008 and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Total aid committed to Ukraine reached 113 billion euros as of this week, according to data compiled by the Ukraine Support Tracker at the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, AP notes.

“Now is not the time to postpone any support, to just be tired of Ukraine and Ukraine’s problems ... because the next time, you realized that without Ukraine, Russia will come closer to the European border. It’s about self-preservation, it’s self-protection — this should be in the minds of EU citizens,” Marchenko added.

The minister praised what he called continuing strong support from Western governments, citing the U.S. in particular.

As reported, the U.S. Government announced the provision of $4.5 billion budget support to Ukraine.

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