Ukraine expects to receive the first 3-billion-euro instalment of an 18-billion-euro support package from the European Union this week.

“Helping Ukraine meet its financing needs to face the Russian aggression is both crucial and urgent. The Commission is acting with utmost speed and determination: tomorrow, we will already disburse the first 3 billion € of the 18 bn macro-financial support agreed in December”, - tweeted Ursula von der Leyen.

“Ukraine and the EU have just signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the provision of 18 billion euros in macro-financial assistance. We expect to receive a tranche of 3 billion euros this week. Many thanks to Ursula von der Leyen and Valdis Dombrovskis. This will help maintain macroeconomic stability going forward”, - wrote Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal on Twitter.

The EU reached an agreement to provide the financing to Ukraine at a summit last month as Kyiv faces a shortfall in government revenues and high expenditures as it battles the Russian invasion.