MOSCOW, April 16. /TASS/. Washington has allocated about $23 billion in aid to Kiev since the end of February 2022, Ukrainian Finance Minister Sergey Marchenko announced.

"Since February 24, 2022, the total volume of budget assistance from the United States amounts to about $23 billion. The funds raised have made a significant contribution to the stability of our country’s financial system," he said as quoted by the press service of the Finance Ministry.

At a meeting with US Treasury Undersecretary for International Affairs Jay Shambaugh in Washington, Marchenko also said that it is "critically important" for Ukraine to continue getting aid from the United States.

"We expect that the United States Congress will make an appropriate decision as soon as possible to approve the assistance package for Ukraine for 2024," he added.

In a conversation with Daleep Singh, Deputy National Security Advisor for International Economics for the Biden administration, Marchenko said that this year Kiev needs $37.2 billion in external financing, of which $10.2 billion has already been received.

Ukraine’s budget deficit for 2024 is registered at $43.9 billion. Nevertheless, the country’s authorities expect to cover most of the deficit with the help of Western allies. Marchenko stated that the budget needs $3 billion in revenues from partners every month. It has been repeatedly noted in Kiev that without financial support from their partners, the country’s economy would crumble.

However, the Ukrainian Finance Minister admitted that only a quarter of Western financial assistance received by Ukraine in 2023 was provided as grants. According to the latest data from the Finance Ministry, at the end of 2023, Ukraine’s public debt reached 80% of GDP.