200610 Ukraine
A passenger (R) gets a temperature check before boarding a train at the central railway station in Kiev, on June 1, 2020. Image Credit: AFP

Washington: The International Monetary Fund has approved a $5 billion (Dh18.4 billion) aid package for Ukraine with an immediate release of $2.1 billion, the institution announced in a statement on Tuesday.

The new 18-month program “aims to help Ukraine to cope with COVID-19 pandemic challenges,” the Fund said in a statement published on its website. The program was agreed in principle on May 21 but has now received the green light from the body’s board of directors.