Bloomberg: new IMF program is preliminarily estimated at $8 billion

The size of the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) new loan program for Ukraine is preliminarily estimated at about $8 billion, Bloomberg reports, citing its own sources. The parameters of the new program are expected to be discussed with the Cabinet of Ministers in Kyiv in November.

Ukraine is seeking to agree on a new four-year arrangement with the IMF by the end of the year, as it has already used most of the funds under the current $15.6 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF). The existing program, which runs until 2027, focuses largely on post-war reconstruction. However, as National Bank of Ukraine Governor Andriy Pyshnyi explained, the war is still ongoing and the next state budget will remain a wartime budget.

On September 9, Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko submitted a letter to IMF mission chief Gavin Gray requesting a new cooperation program to support Ukraine over the coming years.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also discussed the prospects of an expanded financing arrangement with IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva.

Earlier, the Cabinet of Ministers and the Ministry of Finance estimated Ukraine’s external financing needs for 2026–2027 at about $37.5 billion. However, according to IMF assessments, the figure will be significantly higher, given the rise in military expenditures and other fiscal pressures. Following negotiations, the parties agreed on an estimate of about $65 billion, Bloomberg reports.

According to the sources, this figure has already been submitted to the European Commission. The EU, Ukraine’s main donor, plans to provide a significant share of the required funding through loans backed by frozen Russian assets.

• In March 2023, Ukraine secured a four-year IMF Extended Fund Facility totaling $15.6 billion. Over two years, eight successful program reviews have been completed, resulting in nine disbursements.