The International Monetary Fund has convinced the Ukrainian government to significantly increase its forecast for additional financing that the country will need by the end of 2027 amid Russia's protracted invasion, Bloomberg reports, citing sources familiar with the situation, writes UNN.
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Reportedly, Ukraine initially estimated the external financing deficit at almost $38 billion, "but as a result of negotiations with the IMF, this figure increased to approximately $65 billion," officials say.
Bloomberg previously reported that the Ukrainian government and the Washington-based lender "disagreed on the amount of additional financing" that Ukraine needs to receive from allies in the coming years to finance military operations.
The disagreements reportedly arose as Ukraine is rushing to agree with the IMF on a new four-year loan program by the end of the year. Ukraine has already exhausted a large part of the funding under the current $15.5 billion program, which expires in 2027.
The agreed assessment has already been provided to the European Commission, the EU's executive body, sources said. Ukraine's main donor now plans to provide most of the required amount from the remaining funds generated by frozen Russian assets, the publication writes.
Previously, the European Commission relied only on the proceeds from these assets, which were frozen shortly after Kremlin head Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
A representative of the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine and the IMF press service declined to comment.
The IMF expressed doubt about Ukraine's estimates of its financing needs, as the war forced the country to increase its military budget, "which jeopardized its financial stability," the publication notes. The country has suffered from the unwillingness of the United States, once the largest donor, to continue providing aid under the administration of President Donald Trump, the publication indicates.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy plans to meet with Trump and hold a number of other bilateral meetings during the UN General Assembly meeting in New York on Tuesday.
The volume of the new IMF aid package has not been officially discussed, "but, according to preliminary estimates, it will amount to about $8 billion," sources said. The lender will discuss the parameters of the new program with the government in Kyiv in November, the publication writes.