Ukraine receives $3.9 billion grant from US, prime minister says

KYIV (Reuters) - Ukraine has received a $3.9 billion grant from the United States via the World Bank, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said on Monday.

"This is the first tranche of direct budget support from the United States in 2024. In total, Ukraine will receive $7.8 billion in direct budgetary assistance from the United States this year, which will allow us to confidently pass this financial period," Shmyhal said on the Telegram messaging app.

The Ukrainian finance ministry, in a separate statement, said the funds would be directed towards wages for teachers, staff of the State Emergency Service and other public employees, as well as assistance for displaced persons, low-income families and people with disabilities.

"The grant will help the Government of Ukraine to reimburse priority social and humanitarian expenditures without increasing the debt burden," Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko said in a statement.

The ministry said that since February 2022, direct budget support from the United States had reached almost $27 billion, the largest source of financial assistance to Ukraine. Marchenko said the grant was a part of a large $60 billion package of support for Ukraine.

(Reporting by Pavel Polityuk; Editing by Toby Chopra and Peter Graff)