Ukrainian Economy Ministry projects int'l assistance at $20 bln in 2023

MOSCOW. Dec 9 (Interfax) - The Ukrainian Economy Ministry believes that $20 billion in international assistance will be provided to Ukraine in 2023, First Deputy Economy Minister Denis Kudin said.

"Our cautious forecast regarding international assistance next year is $20 billion, as we understand, looking at this year's experience, that what is actually received differs sometimes from public pledges," Ukrainian media quoted Kudin as saying during a discussion at the Center for Economic Strategy on Thursday.

Ukrainian Finance Minister Sergei Marchenko, for his part, said on Thursday that this year's amount of external financing is expected to stand at $30 billion, whereas Ukraine's actual needs are $50 billion. The budget's external financing needs in 2023 are estimated at $38 billion in order to avoid the monetarization of financing by the National Bank of Ukraine, which already stands at 370 billion hryvni, or $11.66 billion, in 2022, and will grow by a further 30 billion hryvni before the end of the year.