Ukrainian PM Sviridenko: IMF program key to receiving EU loan

MOSCOW. Feb 27 (Interfax) - The International Monetary Fund (IMF) program for Ukraine is key to ensuring international financial support for Kiev and lays the foundation for the disbursement of a 90-billion-euro loan from the European Union, Ukrainian media quoted Prime Minister Yulia Sviridenko as saying at a government Q&A session in the Verkhovna Rada on Friday.

"The IMF Executive Board has approved a four-year extended financing program in the amount of $8.1 billion. We expect the first tranche of around $1.5 billion to be transferred to the state budget within the next few days. These funds will be used to address the budget gap and to support macro-financial stability," media outlets quoted Sviridenko as saying.

Without the IMF program, there would be no 90-billion-euro loan from the EU, the first tranche of which Kiev would like to receive in April 2026, she said.

As reported, Hungary has said that it will block the disbursement of this loan to Kiev until Ukraine reopens the Druzhba oil pipeline.