Ukraine Pleads for Massive Relief Package as War Rages

Welcome to the Brussels Edition, Bloomberg’s daily briefing on what matters most in the heart of the European Union.

As Russian forces continue to intensify their attacks on the eastern part of Ukraine, the country told its partners yesterday that it will need as much as $65 billion this year for budget funding and repairs to critical infrastructure. The figure excludes security and defense and goes beyond the $39 billion the IMF estimates is missing from Ukraine’s budget for 2022. It also represents a more urgent request than the reconstruction plan that Kyiv presented to donors yesterday in Lugano, Switzerland. The country’s increasing needs for this year come as the EU has trouble providing about 8 billion euros in emergency financing to the Ukrainian government to pay for salaries and other expenses.