World Bank halts all projects in Russia, Belarus with 'immediate effect'
"Since 2014, the World Bank Group has not authorised any new loans or investments in Russia. Furthermore, no new credit to Belarus has been approved since mid-2020," the World Bank said in a statement on Wednesday.
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FollowIn reaction to Moscow's military activities in Ukraine, the World Bank has halted all of its programmes in Russia and Belarus with "immediate effect." "Since 2014, the World Bank Group has not authorised any new loans or investments in Russia. Furthermore, no new credit to Belarus has been approved since mid-2020," the financial institution said in a statement on Wednesday. The development lender announced it had "stopped all its activities in Russia and Belarus with immediate effect," citing "hostilities towards the people of Ukraine."
Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine and hostilities against the Ukrainian people, the World Bank Group has suspended all programmes in Russia and Belarus with immediate effect, according to the statement.
Meanwhile, the World Bank revealed on Tuesday that it is preparing a USD 3 billion support package for Ukraine in the next months, and the IMF is also planning to offer emergency assistance to the nation. On February 24, Russian forces commenced combat operations in Ukraine, three days after Moscow recognised Ukraine's separatist regions - Donetsk and Luhansk - as separate entities.
Several nations, notably the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, and the European Union, have criticised Russia's military activities in Ukraine and sanctioned Moscow. These nations have also pledged Ukraine military assistance in the battle against Russia.
The United States, Canada, and its European allies decided to withdraw important Russian banks from the SWIFT interbank messaging system, which implies that Russian banks will be unable to communicate securely with banks outside of Russia's borders.
Meanwhile, following Russia's invasion, the United Nations announced an emergency grant of $20 million to expand UN humanitarian activities in Ukraine. The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced that the UN and its humanitarian partners are committed to staying and delivering to help people in Ukraine in their hour of need regardless of who or where they are.
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