FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Ukraine’s finance minister says crucial Western financial aid is “not charity” but “self-preservation” as donor countries share the price of turning back Russian aggression. Serhiy Marchenko told The Associated Press in an interview Thursday that his country is protecting freedom and democracy far beyond its borders. He said he believes EU officials will resolve their dispute with Hungary that is holding up 18 billion euros in loans and would cover a large part of Ukraine’s looming budget gap. That outside financing is needed to avoid printing money at the central bank to cover basic needs like pensions, a practice that risks fueling already painful inflation.
Helping Ukraine is ‘self-preservation,’ finance chief says
