Ukraine expects $3 billion U.S. financial aid in August

FILE PHOTO: National flags of Ukraine and the U.S. fly at a compound of a police training base outside Kiev, Ukraine, May 6, 2016. Picture taken May 6, 2016. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko

KYIV (Reuters) - Ukraine expects $3 billion of U.S. financial aid to arrive in August and a further $1.5 billion in September, Finance Minister Sergiy Marchenko said on Thursday.

Marchenko said the payments were part of the $7.5 billion financial aid package agreed by Ukraine and the United States at the start of the summer, and would be used to finance "critical spending" such as healthcare and pension costs.