An IMF mission, led by Gavin Gray, starts policy discussions today in Kyiv with the Ukrainian authorities on the fifth review of the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) Arrangement, Ms. Priscilla Toffano, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Resident Representative in Ukraine, made the following statement today.

Other details of the mission, in particular the duration of its work, are not included in the statement.

It was previously noted that the focus of the 5th review of the EFF Arrangement will be fiscal issues and the search for financing sources for the following years, taking into account the review of estimates of the possible duration of the war.

This week, the Verkhovna Rada began considering amendments to the 2024 state budget to increase its defense spending by almost UAH 500 billion, including through a number of new taxes and a significant increase in government borrowing. In addition, the Cabinet of Ministers must submit a draft state budget for 2025 to the Verkhovna Rada by September 15.

As reported, the IMF Board completed the fourth review of the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) for Ukraine on June 28 and approved the allocation of the fifth tranche of approximately $2.2 billion (SDR 1.66 billion). The next review, scheduled for late September, is expected to attract $1.1 billion (SDR 834.9 million) to the budget.