The International Monetary Fund has persuaded Ukraine’s government to significantly increase its projections of additional funding the country will need through the end of 2027 in the face of Russia’s protracted invasion, according to people familiar with the matter.
Kyiv initially estimated the gap in foreign financing at almost US$38 billion (RM159.52 billion) but the discussions with the IMF have lifted the figure to around US$65 billion, according to the officials. They asked not to be identified because they were not authored to discuss the matter publicly.
IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva was among the first people who Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met in New York upon his arrival for the United Nations General Assembly on Monday.
The discrepancy emerged as Ukraine is rushing to negotiate a new, four-year loan with the IMF before the end of the year. Kyiv has already exhausted most of the financing under the current US$15.5 billion programme that expires in 2027.
The agreed estimate has already been shared with the European Commission, the European Union’s executive arm, the people said. Ukraine’s main donor now plans to provide much of the required amount by using the cash balance generated by frozen Russian assets.
The Commission had previously relied only on income generated from those assets, which were immobilized soon after President Vladimir Putin launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
The size of the new IMF package hasn’t been formally discussed but early estimates put it at about US$8 billion, the people said. The Washington-based lender will discuss the parameters of the new programme with the government in Kyiv in November.
Source: Theedgemalaysia