Washington, 8 June 2022 (dpa/MIA) - The World Bank has approved a further $1.49 billion of financing for Ukraine to allow the embattled country to continue paying state employee wages, the World Bank announced on Tuesday. World Bank chief David Malpass said it was "providing further support to Ukraine in the face of the ongoing war," though it was not immediately made clear whether the new funds were to be provided as aid or as a loan. The World Bank said that including the new funding, the organization had now released some $4 billion to support Ukraine. According to the bank's own estimates, the Ukrainian economy is expected to contract by about a half this year as a result of the Russian invasion.