IMF Greenlights Handover of $890 Mln to Ukraine Amid Faltering Counteroffensive

Despite the billions worth of US and NATO-supplied military equipment pumped into the Kiev regime, the Ukrainian counteroffensive, launched on June 4, has so far come up empty, while suffering “significant losses” both in manpower and equipment, according to Russia’s Ministry of Defense.

The much-heralded Ukrainian counteroffensive may be floundering, but that has not stopped the West from persistently flushing millions down the sinkhole that this “assistance for Kiev” has become.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced on Thursday that it had approved the release of a $890 million installment of aid for Ukraine. The loan is the second tranche granted to the authorities in Kiev, and part of a package worth $15.6 billion that the Washington-based global moneylender greenlighted back in March. In line with the first installment, in April, Ukraine received $2.7 billion. After completing its first review of the extended arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) for Ukraine, the IMF announced on June 29 that the Kiev regime had "made strong progress in their commitments under” the program amid “difficult circumstances.”

Ukraine is eligible to receive yet another $890 million tranche from the IMF in October, assuming that it meets the requisite conditions, including anti-corruption reforms.

Ukraine had initially submitted its EU bid early last year, but its European ambitions have yet to acquire any tangible prospect. Seven conditions were laid out by the European Commission in June 2022, with EU leaders subsequently declaring Ukraine a candidate country to join the bloc. However, Brussels has repeatedly underscored that the highly complex and technical process can drag on for years.

News about the IMF loan comes against the backdrop of the ongoing faltering Ukrainian counteroffensive, which has reportedly left the Kiev regime's Western handlers disappointed. They would ostensibly like to see the billions-worth of military assistance they donated to the ongoing proxy war against Russia in Ukraine be used for more impressive gains.

The authorities in Kiev are said to be increasingly infuriated at how their Western partners are calling for more intense operations.

"Certain partners are telling us to go forward and fight violently, but they also take their time delivering the hardware and weapons we need," a source in the Ukrainian military intelligence was cited as saying in a UK media report. US General Christopher Cavoli has also been cited as acknowledging that Ukraine’s counteroffensive is struggling against Russia’s defenses.

Ukraine launched its much-touted counteroffensive in early June after multiple postponements. Russia's Defense Ministry has repeatedly said that Ukrainian troops are trying to advance in the South Donetsk, Artemovsk (Bakhmut), and Zaporozhye directions, but without success.

On Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Ukraine had lost as many as 259 tanks and 780 armored vehicles since the start of its counteroffensive.

The flow of military assistance to Ukraine continues unabated, nonetheless. The US Department of Defense on Tuesday announced a package of additional military aid for Ukraine worth $500 million, including 30 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, 25 Stryker armored personnel carriers, Stinger anti-aircraft systems, as well as more munitions for Patriot defense systems and HIMARS systems. Despite all the weapons pouring in to bolster Kiev, its forces struggle against Russia's elaborate defenses, including infantry trenches, anti-personnel and anti-tank minefields, anti-tank dragon’s teeth, earthen beams, and so on.

Ukrainians are being sent to the battlefield "like lambs to the slaughter" during Kiev's so-called 'counteroffensive,' Russia's Permanent Representative to the UN Security Council, Vasily Nebenzia said on June 29. The Russian envoy underscored that the collective West has become detached from reality and is purposely provoking a direct confrontation between the nuclear powers.