By David Lawder

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – The World Bank wants to approve a $350 million additional loan to Ukraine in just days. This is to help the country fight against Russian invasion.

According to sources, the loan expansion would give Ukraine “budget assistance”, with no restrictions as to how President Volodymyrzelskiy can spend it.

According to one source, the loan might be available by next week for approval. A second said that disbursement could come within days.

They claimed that the plan is supported by the World Bank’s 25 members executive board, in spite of objections from Russia. A majority of voting shares for the development lender are owned by the United States, and Western allies.

After Russia invaded Ukraine, World Bank officials have felt the urgency to wire urgent cash to Ukraine. Zelenskiy, in Munich, on February 19th, was told by David Malpass (World Bank President) that they were preparing to disburse $350million by March 31st. This will be followed by financing projects.

Although a World Bank spokesperson declined to discuss the details, he said that the bank was currently in the process of preparing fast-disbursing financing packages for Ukraine. The plan would be submitted to the board of directors for their consideration within the following days.

Sources described the disbursement to be a “topping-up” which would double the $350 million Development Policy loan granted to Ukraine Dec. 17. This was to help support economic reforms, land reforms, and credit access for small farmers.

The World Bank would lend Ukraine over $1.5billion in loans to Ukraine, which includes COVID-19 and vaccines and power grid improvement and education.

The bank could approve an expansion loan faster than if they were to initiate a new loan process. The supplement could be funded by some bilateral donors.

One source said that Russia’s invading force in Ukraine is growing rapidly. A third source claimed that the $350million disbursement might be delayed if Zelenskiy’s government is removed before it is possible to transfer.

Sources said, “If there are concerns that funds might be misused on the day before disbursement,” The bank must be certain that funds are going to Ukraine’s government. Otherwise, the money will not be released until the last minute.

In total, $2.3 Billion has been lent by the World Bank to support budget, healthcare and investment plans since the COVID-19 pandemic started in the early 2020s.