The World Bank announced on Wednesday the immediate suspension of all its aid programs in Russia and Belarus, in response to the invasion of Ukraine.
“Following the invasion of Ukraine and the hostilities against the Ukrainian people, the World Bank Group stopped all its programs in Russia and Belarus with immediate effect,” the institution announced in a statement.
In Belarus, the World Bank was involved in 11 projects totaling about $1.15 billion; while in Russia, it had four projects totaling 370 million dollars, according to its website.
In addition, the institution stressed in the document that it had not approved “any new loan or investment in Russia since 2014”, when the Russian annexation of Crimea occurred.
“There are also no new loans approved in favor of Belarus since mid-2020,” he said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin launched an offensive in Ukraine last week, drawing outrage from the West, while economic sanctions mounted from Europe and North America.
On Tuesday, the World Bank had announced that it was preparing an emergency aid of 3,000 million dollars in favor of Ukraine, of which at least 350 million could be unlocked as of this week.
Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is also planning additional aid for Kiev of 2.2 billion dollars, which must be unlocked by the end of June.
