Ukraine’s Deputy Minister of Finance Olga Zykova and the World Bank Regional Country Director for Eastern Europe Bob Saum co-chaired an update meeting on the Ukraine Relief, Recovery, Reconstruction and Reform Trust Fund (URTF) program, managed by the World Bank.

During the meeting, the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine, the World Bank project teams, and representatives from 17 donor countries discussed the progress of the Program’s implementation and the strategic priorities for the Fund’s further work in Ukraine.

The Deputy Minister of Finance Olga Zykova thanked the World Bank and its partners for their continued support to Ukraine, noting that the URTF remains a critically important tool for Ukraine, demonstrating a well-structured yet flexible mechanism that allows the Ukrainian Government to leverage partner financing promptly where it is most needed. She also assured donors that the Ukrainian Government remains committed to transparency and accountability in the implementation of initiatives funded through international cooperation.

As the representative of the Ministry of Finance pointed out, despite the fact that russia’s aggression against Ukraine has been ongoing for the fourth year and continues to cause severe damage, with the help of the World Bank and its partners, the Government of Ukraine has been able to continue providing essential services, ensuring medical assistance, supporting vulnerable groups of the population, as well as ensuring the educational process in frontline areas, restoring homes damaged by russian shelling, electricity supply, and supporting agricultural enterprises.

“Specifically, the support of the World Bank in the energy sector has been crucial. With the allocated funds, we were able to acquire the necessary transformers and critically important equipment to restore electricity supply. This helped us get through the difficult periods of power outages during the summer, autumn, and winter of last year,” emphasized Olga Zykova.

By the end of 2024, the URTF mobilized USD 2 billion in donor contributions, USD 1.2 billion of which were disbursed. This grant financing also helped unlock USD 6.2 billion in additional development funding for Ukraine’s relief, recovery, reconstruction, and reform efforts.

To date, URTF-supported projects have reached 20 million Ukrainians, including:

• 87,000+ households (representing about 200,000 people) received compensations to repair their war-damaged homes (HOPE project in housing);
• 3.5 million customers had their electricity supply restored, and 1.5 million residents regained heating through critical equipment deliveries (RePoWER project in energy);
• 6.3 million people received mental health services and health examinations, 5.2 million children were vaccinated, and 473,000 people underwent rehabilitation (HEAL project in healthcare);
• 33,000 farmers gained access to affordable financing (ARISE project in agriculture);
• 13 million people received social assistance payments on time (PEACE project in supporting Ukraine’s public service delivery capacity);
• 380,000 school students benefited from improved education, and 12,000 children in remote areas were provided free transportation (LEARN project in education).

At the same time, according to the Deputy Minister of Finance, the implementation of the World Bank’s Program for recovery, reconstruction, and reform continues to promote Ukraine’s progress on the path to reforms, bringing it closer to EU accession, and laying the foundation for long-term growth.

In particular, the World Bank has played a crucial role in supporting reforms in the public investment management system. This reform is vital for the country’s reconstruction, long-term development, and Ukraine’s EU accession, as it will enable the Government to prioritize investment projects that meet quality and environmental standards, ensuring effective mobilization of public and private resources.

For its part, the World Bank noted that the Ukrainian Government successfully implements all projects and delivers the necessary results.