Ukraine receives first $1.5 bln tranche under new IMF program - PM
MOSCOW. March 3 (Interfax) - Ukraine has received the first $1.5-billion tranche from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) under a new four-year extended financing program and will use it to fund priority budget expenditures and to support macro-financial stability, Prime Minister Yulia Sviridenko said.
The new program's total volume is $8.1 billion, Ukrainian media outlets quoted Sviridenko as saying in a statement on social media. Since the start of the crisis, Ukraine has mobilized $14.9 billion in IMF financing for the state budget, she said.
Kiev continues implementing the agreed reforms aimed at maintaining macroeconomic stability, strengthening state institutions, and advancing Ukraine's integration into Europe, Sviridenko said.
Media outlets quoted the Ukrainian Finance Ministry as saying in a statement on Tuesday that the new group will help mobilize substantial external financial support to cover budget needs. Estimates by the Ukrainian government and the IMF put the total external financing gap in 2026-2029 at around $136.5 billion under the baseline scenario.
"The first review of the program is expected to take place in June this year," Finance Minister Sergei Marchenko said.
According to the IMF's documents published after the new program was approved on February 26, 2026, three reviews are scheduled for this year - in early June, in September, and in December. If successful, Ukraine will be eligible for two traches of SDR0.50 billion (around $0.69 billion) each, followed by another SDR0.70 million (approximately $0.96 billion).
After that, the program will shift to semi-annual reviews to be held in early June and in December each year.
In order to receive the second tranche, Ukraine had until the end of February to implement recommendations to strengthen the appointment process for the state-owned banks' supervisory boards, and it has a deadline until the end of March to adopt a package of tax measures for 2026-2027 and appoint a new permanent head of the State Customs Service. These are three near-term structural benchmarks of the new arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) with the IMF.
According to IMF data, prior to this tranche, Ukraine received SDR10.0 billion ($13.7 billion under today's exchange rate) from the IMF in 2022-2026 and repaid it SDR9.0 billion ($12.3 billion) of the principal amount and interest.
