Ukraine gets 12-bln-euro budget support from EU this year

MOSCOW/KIEV, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- The following are the latest developments on the Ukraine crisis:

Ukraine has received 12 billion euros (about 13 billion U.S. dollars) in budget support from the European Union since the beginning of the year, the country's Finance Ministry said Tuesday.

Out of the sum, 1.5 billion euros was paid to Ukraine earlier in the day as the seventh tranche of the EU macro-financial assistance package, the ministry said in a statement.

As in previous periods, Ukraine will direct the loan to finance its priority budget expenditures, including social and humanitarian spheres, the statement added.

In December 2022, the EU allocated 18 billion euros in macro-financial assistance for Ukraine in 2023 to help the conflict-affected country cover its immediate funding needs.

The 35-year loan agreement stipulates that EU nations will cover the interest and other debt-related payments instead of Ukraine.

- - - -

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Bulgarian Prime Minister Nikolai Denkov discussed alternative routes for exports of foodstuffs from Ukraine after the collapse of the Black Sea Grain Initiative, the presidential press service reported Tuesday.

"Ukraine is ready to use alternative ways for the 'grain corridor.' We count on Bulgaria's support in this regard," Zelensky said during the negotiations in the Greek capital of Athens.

Zelensky and Denkov discussed the cooperation between their states to ensure sustainable security in the Black Sea.

Last month, the Black Sea Grain Initiative collapsed after Russia announced its withdrawal from the deal.

- - - -

A Russian aircraft destroyed a second Ukrainian military boat near Zmiinyi Island in the Black Sea in one day, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Tuesday.

"On Aug. 22, at about 11:00 Moscow time (0800GMT), a U.S.-made high-speed military boat from the Willard Sea Force with an amphibious assault group from the Ukrainian military was destroyed by a Russian aerospace forces aircraft east of Zmiinyi Island," the ministry's statement said.

Earlier in the day, the Russian Defense Ministry said a Russian SU-30SM fighter destroyed a Ukrainian reconnaissance boat in the Black Sea.