Ukraine Raises $270 Million to Fund Army

On Tuesday, the Ukrainian government issued war bonds, raising approximately 8.14 billion Ukrainian hryvnias ($270 million).

The country’s finance ministry announced in a tweet that the bonds would have an 11 percent yield and a one-year maturity.

The proceeds from the bonds will use to meet the needs of Ukraine’s Armed Forces and to ensure the uninterrupted provision of the state’s financial markets during the war,” the ministry tweeted the day before. Its website is currently unavailable. The bond has a face value of 1,000 hryvnias ($33).

The government also issued bonds with a two-month maturity and a 10% yield. Donators raised another $7 million as a result of this.

The bond sale was conducted through dealers such as Citigroup, Austria’s Raiffeisen Bank, and Budapest-based OTP Bank Nyrt; they cited a call between a Ukrainian official and investors. Since the invasion began last week, Ukraine’s armed forces have held mainly off Russian troops. So far, the smaller country has defended and retained control of key cities, slowing Russia’s advance on the capital, Kyiv.

While Ukraine’s tenacity has surprised analysts, many still believe Russia will triumph due to Moscow’s vast military resources. According to World Bank data, Ukraine’s military spending in 2020 will be $5.92 billion, a fraction of Russia’s $61.71 billion.

As fighting continues and a Russian convoy approaches Kyiv, Ukraine has sought to raise funds through various means.

On Saturday, the Ukrainian government published addresses for two cryptocurrency wallets, one accepting only bitcoin and the other ether and tether, a token that tracks the value of the US dollar. According to Elliptic, a blockchain analytics firm, those wallets had received $10.2 million in cryptocurrency as of Sunday. It is in addition to the millions of dollars in digital currency donated to non-governmental organizations that support the Ukrainian military.