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Ukraine goes poor as a church mouse - Reliant on the West
“Without the help of Washington and Brussels, Kiev can no longer fulfill its obligations to citizens,” claims Russian MP Vyacheslav Volodin - “collected taxes form only 40% of the country's budget” - that’s as Kiev begs the West for $5bn a month in assistance.
The figures - also reported in the Wall Street Journal - make grim reading for Kiev as the country’s budgets are rejigged. “There will be no expenses that will not be reviewed,” said Finance Minister Sergey Marchenko in an interview with RBC last week.
Aid from the West has been slow. So far, only 1bn euros of the 9bn pledged by the EU as part of its long-term loan package has arrived. The US has so far provided $4bn.
