Ukraine covered 38% of 2022 budget expenditures with partners' help, hopes for Financial Ramstein this year - PM Shmygal

MOSCOW. March 3 (Interfax) - The 2022 revenues of Ukraine's state budget amounted to 1.33 trillion hryvni and expenditures to 2.64 trillion hryvni, including 1.3 trillion hryvni spent on security and defense, Prime Minister Denis Shmygal said.

"About 62% are our own funds and [domestic government] bonds, and 38%, or $38 billion, are grants and easy loans from our partners," Ukrainian media quoted Shmygal as saying at a press conference in Kiev on Friday.

Owing to a substantial share of grants, Ukraine's state debt as of January 1, 2023 amounted to $111 billion, having increased by $13 billion over the past year, he said.

In 2023, the national defense and security budget will be at least equal to that in 2022 "or will possibly increase as long as necessary," he said.

Shmygal confirmed the previous assessment of the 2023 budget deficit of $38.5 billion, which Ukraine intends to finance with support from foreign partners and avoid emission, which amounted to 400 billion hryvni last year through the purchase of government bonds by the National Bank.

In this context, Shmygal said he was looking to the Donor Coordination Platform for Ukraine, also referred to informally as Financial Ramstein. This platform currently has four co-chairpersons, namely the Ukrainian finance minister, representatives of the EU and the U.S., and the finance minister of a country holding G7 presidency, currently Japan, he said.

The Financial Ramstein will gather once a month at a regular level and once a quarter at a high level, Shmygal said.

This format will also be used to discuss the provision of $17 billion for a speedy recovery, as well as the financing of post-crisis recovery, he said.

"There is a draft plan including 24 sections. We're finalizing it, but we've been unable to endorse it, for it's changing every day," he said.