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World Bank Pledges $200m To Repair Ukraine Energy Infrastructure

Published

3 years ago

April 12, 2023

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The World Bank announced on Wednesday a grant of $200 million toward repairing Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, as officials from the war-torn country met with financial institution leaders in Washington.

Russia damaged more than 50 per cent of Ukraine’s power infrastructure in attacks on its neighbor over the autumn and winter months, the global lender said in a statement.

It noted that Ukraine’s East, where fighting was fiercest, had been particularly hard hit.

The funds were provided by the Ukraine Relief, Recovery, Reconstruction and Reform Trust Fund, with a goal of up to $300 million in additional funding from partners “as the project expands its scope,” the Bank said.

The project will target emergency repairs to electricity and heating infrastructure.

“Energy infrastructure has suffered $11 billion in damages over the last year and is one of the most critical areas where Ukraine needs urgent support,” said World Bank Managing Director of Operations, Anna Bjerde.

The World Bank has mobilised more than $23 billion in financing for Ukraine since Russia invaded in February last year, with $20 billion disbursed so far.

The announcement came just ahead of a roundtable on Ukraine at the headquarters of the International Monetary Fund, held during the crisis lender’s spring meetings.

During the event, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked partners via videolink for their support and urged further backing.

“By rebuilding what has been ruined, we defeat the goal of terror, we return the normal life,” he said in English, reiterating a call for Russian assets to be put towards Ukraine’s reconstruction.

The IMF announced on March 31 that it had approved a $15.6 billion support package for Ukraine, forming the fund’s portion of a $115 billion overall support package comprised of debt relief, grants and loans by multilateral and bilateral institutions.

– ‘Victory of civility’ –

The IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva praised Ukraine’s resilience in the face of the invasion, saying at the meeting that the country’s repairs, economic activity and functioning government demonstrated “victory of civility over evil.”

However, Ukraine will need an estimated $411 billion for recovery and reconstruction according to a recent study by the World Bank, the United Nations, the European Commission and Ukraine.

The sum is an increase on the $349 billion estimated in September and is likely to only grow as the conflict continues.

The study estimated Ukraine will need $14 billion for critical expenditures in 2023.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmygal, who attended the IMF meeting in person, urged allies to stump up the $11 billion still needed in financing.

“This is a number one priority for my country to bring people a minimum level of social and humanitarian services,” Shmygal said.

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen urged allies and partners to maintain economic support for Ukraine, praising Kyiv for anticorruption efforts in a country that has for years suffered endemic graft.

“Your commitment to making sure that international assistance is being used responsibly is essential,” she said.

AFP

Related Topics:#World Bank Russut Ukraine

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Russia Insists Ukraine Must Cede Land Or Face Continued Military Push

Published

9 hours ago

November 27, 2025

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Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that he would end his Ukraine offensive if Kyiv withdrew from territory Moscow claims at its own — otherwise his army would take it by force.

The Russian army has been slowly but steadily grinding through eastern Ukraine in costly battles against outnumbered and outgunned Ukrainian forces.

Washington has meanwhile renewed its push to end the nearly four-year war, putting forward a surprise plan that it hopes to finalise through upcoming talks with Moscow and Kyiv.

“If Ukrainian forces leave the territories they hold, then we will stop combat operations,” Putin said during a visit to Kyrgyzstan. “If they don’t, then we will achieve it by military means.”

Russia controls around one-fifth of Ukraine’s territory. The issue of occupied land, which Kyiv has said it will never cede, is among the biggest stumbling blocks in the peace process.

Another important issue in the talks are Western security guarantees for Ukraine, which Kyiv says are needed to prevent Moscow from invading again in the future.

Washington’s original plan — drafted without input from Ukraine’s European allies — would have seen Kyiv withdraw from its eastern Donetsk region and the United States de facto recognise the Donetsk, Crimea and Lugansk regions as Russian.

The US pared back the original plan over the weekend following criticism from Kyiv and Europe, but has not yet released the new version.

Putin, who has seen the new plan, said it could be a negotiation starter.

“Overall, we agree that it could form the basis for future agreements,” he said of the latest draft, which the US is thought to have shortened to about 20 points.

US negotiator Steve Witkoff was expected in Moscow next week to discuss the revised document, Putin said.

US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll is meanwhile due to visit Kyiv later this week, Ukraine’s top presidential aide Andriy Yermak said.

– ‘Little can be done’ –

In his remarks Thursday, Putin repeated the claim that Russia had encircled the Ukrainian army in Pokrovsk and Myrnograd in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region — the most fiercely embattled area and a key target for Moscow’s forces.

“Krasnoarmeysk and Dimitrov are completely surrounded,” he said, using the Russian names for the cities.

Moscow was also advancing in Vovchansk and Siversk, as well as approaching the important logistic hub of Guliaipole, he added.

The Russian offensive “is practically impossible to hold back, so there is little that can be done about it”, Putin said.

Ukraine has denied Pokrovsk and Myrnograd are encircled, insisting its forces continue to hold the enemy along the front line.

Putin also questioned Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s legitimacy and said signing any agreement with him would be legally “almost impossible” at the moment, a suggestion that has drawn groans from Kyiv and its allies.

According to data analysed by AFP from the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW), Russian forces have conquered an average of 467 square kilometres (180 square miles) each month in 2025 — a step up from 2024.

Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, triggering the worst armed conflict in Europe since World War II.

The war has killed hundreds of thousands of people and forced millions to flee their homes.

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Morocco Jails French Rapper Maes For Kidnapping Bid

Published

1 day ago

November 26, 2025

Editor

A Moroccan court has sentenced French rapper Maes to seven years in prison on charges including the formation of a criminal gang and attempted kidnapping, local reports said Wednesday.

Maes, who has roots in Morocco and whose real name is Walid Georgey, was arrested upon landing in Morocco in January after fleeing the United Arab Emirates, where he feared he could be extradited to France, the reports said.

French authorities had issued an international arrest warrant for him over a separate criminal case.

He appeared in court late Tuesday and was found guilty of “forming a criminal organisation, attempted abduction and unlawful confinement” of a rival in Morocco, news website TelQuel reported.

The rapper with over a billion views on his YouTube channel was accused of tasking a gang and hitmen with killing the rival, but the plot was foiled, TelQuel added.

Maes has denied all charges, with his lawyers calling the case “empty” and “arguing that no evidence linked him to the other defendants”, TelQuel added.

Ten other people were sentenced as part of the case, with terms ranging from one to 10 years, according to news website Media24.

AFP was unable to independently verify the reports as prosecutors were not immediately reachable for comment.

In 2020, when Maes was one of France’s most-streamed rappers, he fell victim to extortion attempts in his native Sevran, a suburb north of Paris, according to reports.

He retaliated by opening fire with weapons he had at home, leading to a shootout. He then fled to Dubai with his family, according to an interview with French YouTube channel LEGEND.

Following the killing of his manager in 2022, he was suspected of ordering reprisals against those he believed were behind the murder, according to reports.

AFP

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UK Court Clears Comedy Writer Of Harassing Transgender Woman

Published

1 day ago

November 26, 2025

Editor

A London court on Tuesday cleared Emmy award-winning comedy writer Graham Linehan of harassing a transgender activist online but found him guilty of criminal damage to their mobile phone.

Linehan, who co-created the popular 1990s sitcom “Father Ted” but has more recently become well-known for his gender critical views, had been accused of sending Sophia Brooks “abusive and vindictive” messages on social media.

He was also charged with criminal damage after deliberately knocking a phone out of Brooks’s hand as they filmed him on the sidelines of a London conference.

Ruling on the case, District Judge Briony Clarke said she was not convinced Linehan’s conduct “was oppressive and unacceptable beyond merely unattractive, annoying or irritating”.

Clarke also concluded Brooks was not “as alarmed and distressed as they portrayed themself to be”.

But convicting Linehan of criminal damage, the judge ruled he was “angry and fed up” and did not use “reasonable force” when the phone was taken from Brooks.

Clarke fined him £500 ($655) and ordered him to pay costs of £650 and a statutory surcharge of £200.

The Irish writer, who also co-created the popular sitcoms “Black Books” and “The IT Crowd”, became embroiled in a free speech row in Britain earlier this year over his anti-transgender stance.

It followed his arrest at London’s Heathrow Airport by armed police over accusations of inciting violence with his X posts insulting transgender people.

The arrest sparked a backlash and claims of state overreach, including from US tech billionaire Elon Musk. But in October, UK prosecutors said they would take “no further action” in that case.

AFP