UK Backs $1 Billion World Bank Loan to Keep Ukraine's Hospitals and Schools Running

The World Bank has approved $1 billion in UK backed finance for Ukraine, with the announcement made by Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy at the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Gdańsk on 25 June 2026. The funding forms the latest tranche of a $5 billion loan guarantee commitment the UK made to support World Bank lending to Ukraine. Pooled with backing from partner nations, it will unlock more than $4 billion in combined financing.

The money is earmarked to keep essential public services running across Ukraine while the war continues, hospitals, schools, and basic government functions that would otherwise face severe funding gaps.

The $1 billion splits equally between two distinct World Bank operations, each with different aims.

The first $500 million goes into a World Bank programme worth $3.35 billion in total. That operation has focused on enabling private sector financing and investment in Ukraine, attracting skilled labour to jobs, and advancing cross border market integration work that the government says supports the foundations of a longer term economic recovery.

The second $500 million is directed into a Social Protection operation worth $880 million, co-financed by Japan and Germany. That programme targets the modernisation of social assistance in Ukraine, including reforms to social policy, disability rights, and labour market inclusion.

Speaking at the conference in Gdańsk, David Lammy said the UK was "backing Ukraine to keep its country running, keep the lights on in hospitals and make sure teachers get paid." He described the $1 billion as "the largest component of the UK's fiscal support for Ukraine since Russia's illegal invasion in 2022" and said the UK would stand alongside Ukraine "for its defence today and its rebuilding in the future."

Separately, Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper announced a package worth almost £290 million to support Ukraine's recovery and energy security. The investment covers three areas, funding for judicial reforms, support for an EU Anti Corruption Initiative, and backing for Ukraine's Green Transition Office.

No further breakdown of the £290 million across those three areas was provided in the government's announcement.

The UK has committed $5 billion in total loan guarantees to support World Bank lending to Ukraine. The $1 billion confirmed at the Gdańsk conference represents the latest allocation under that overall commitment, not a new pledge. The government has not confirmed publicly when, or whether, further tranches beyond this will be drawn down.