The European Union released 500 million euros in loans to Ukraine on Wednesday, the latest portion of a 1.6 billion ($2 billion) aid programme launched in March to rescue an almost bankrupt Kiev government. The expected payout comes a day after Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko unveiled a new government tasked with pushing through anti-corruption reforms, a key condition of the EU's loan programme.
"We are providing essential financial support at a time of extraordinary economic and social challenges for the Ukrainian people," the EU's Economic Affairs Commissioner Pierre Moscovici said in a statement. "In turn, it is vital the country maintain the momentum of reform so as to create the conditions for sustainable prosperity for all Ukrainians," he added. The EU and international lenders have already provided billions of euros in loans and grants since a revolution overthrew a pro-Russian government in February, sparking a separatist war in the east and a deep economic crisis.
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