Ukraine received $5 bln from international partners in Dec

MOSCOW. Dec 27 (Interfax) - The Ukrainian budget has received $5 billion of external financing in December, twice as much as in November, Ukrainian media reported, quoting a Finance Ministry statement.

It said more than 11% of this consisted of grants.

"The international assistance is used to finance the state budget's priority social expenditures, in particular, education and health sector wages, humanitarian needs and social welfare," it said.

The ministry said the donors in December were Japan - $2.2 billion concessional financing and grants, EU - $1.6 billion concessional financing, International Monetary Fund - about $900 million concessional financing, Norway - $190 million grant, Germany - $55 million grant, United States - $50 million grant, Switzerland - $20 million grant and the World Bank - $8 million concessional financing.

Finance Minister Sergei Marchenko was quoted as saying last week that Ukraine would need $37.3 billion of external financing in 2024 and expected to receive $42.3 billion from donors in 2023.

The desired volume of foreign funding in 2024 identified by Marchenko, including grants, is confirmed in the IMF materials based on the results of the second review of the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) Arrangement. "Support from official donors will remain the main source of financing the deficit next year," the IMF says.

Net financing through the placement of domestic government bonds, although significantly lower, will also remain an important source of financing, amounting to $3.8 billion under the baseline scenario, the IMF said.

The United States is expected to provide $8.5 billion, Japan $2 billion, the United Kingdom $1 billion, and another $20.4 billion expected from the European Union, Canada and Japan, according to IMF data.