According to IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde, the financial help to Ukraine will total around $40 billion, Russian news agency RIA Novosti reports. The means will be allocated to Kiev within four years.
Several sources will provide credits. The IMF will also budget extra $17.5 billion. “I intend to recommend this program for consideration to the IMF Executive Board,” Ms. Lagarde said.
Ukraine’s Finance Minister Natalie Jaresko has already complained about the aid’s size. According to her, Kiev is getting a tiny amount compared to Greece. Jaresko underlined that Ukraine is a good debtor and that investors underestimate the Ukrainians’ ability to withstand difficulties and will to pay their debts.
In 2014 the Ukrainian external public debt amounted to $30 billion that is a quarter of the country’s GDP. Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said Kiev was due to pay $11 billion debt. However, the gold and foreign exchange reserves do not exceed $8 billion.
The World Bank budgeted means to Ukraine for energy grids’ development two times. First time it allocated $200 million and then $378.4 million on February 10.
On December 3, the EU provided €500 million as a part of the second macro-financial assistance program (MFA2). This credit is the second and the last tranche within MFA for Kiev in 2014.
On May 20 Ukraine got €100 million; on June 17, €500 million; and on November 12, €260 million. The next tranche of €250 million is expected in spring 2015. The amount of financial support totals €1.61 billion.
On April 30, 2014 the IMF approved the 2-year $17 billion stand-by agreement for Kiev. The first tranche of the program, equal to $ 3.16 billion, was received by Ukraine at the beginning of May 2014; the second one ($1.39 billion), in September.
