Without reforms, Ukraine will run out of funding and crumble, MP warns
REUTERS/Gleb Garanich
If European funding under the Ukraine
Facility program is jeopardized by Kyiv stalling legislative reforms, the
country will not be able to continue defending against Russia and will simply collapse,
Ukrainian MP Mykyta Poturaiev told NV Radio on Aug. 19.
“The main question is whether we will be able to vote on the bills under which tranches of [European] macro-financial assistance are being allocated to us,” Poturaiev said.
He called the roughly EUR90 billion tied to the Ukraine Facility Plan only formally a loan and said it is effectively a “gift.” He said one tranche is planned for this year and another for next year and that a large share of the money is earmarked for the military: weapons and salaries, among other needs.
“Clearly, without this money the army will not be able to fight,” the MP warned.
“Likewise, the country cannot function without the funds that come under the laws we adopt according to the Ukraine Facility Plan. We have a large backlog — not a monetary debt, but a debt in laws [we need to pass].”
He added that if the parliament does not address the issue, the government will not receive the funds needed to operate and social unrest could follow.
“We must understand: if we do not solve this key problem, protests, if they occur, will be driven by other reasons, because the state will begin to crumble,” Poturaiev said.
“Let’s look at this very responsibly. You don’t fight
without money; you don’t live without money. Money is given under conditions,
and the conditions are not being met. We must urgently find a way to meet them.”
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