IMF board approves $15.6bn Ukraine loan package

THE International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved a $15.6bn support package for Ukraine to assist with the conflict-hit country’s economic recovery, the fund has said.

The Russian invasion has devastated Ukraine’s economy, causing activity to contract by around 30 percent last year, destroying much of its capital stock and fuelling poverty, according to the IMF.

The 48-month Extended Fund Facility (EFF) programme approved by the fund’s board is worth roughly $15.6bn.

It forms the IMF’s portion of a $115bn overall support package comprised of debt relief, grants and loans by multilateral and bilateral institutions, the organisation confirmed in a press conference Friday.

The IMF recently changed its rules to allow loan programmes for countries facing “exceptionally high uncertainty”. The new four-year programme aims to “anchor macroeconomic and financial stability as well as to undertake critical structural reforms as the war continues,” IMF Deputy Managing Director Gita Gopinath said in a statement.

Of the total amount approved by the IMF, $2.7bn is being made available to Ukraine immediately, with the rest of the funds due to be released over the next four years.

The more “ambitious structural reforms” to support sustained growth and post-war reconstruction, as well as facilitate Ukraine’s path to EU accession among other goals, will be left until active combat ends, she added.

The EFF loan is the first major financing programme approved by the IMF for a country involved in a largescale war. Ukraine’s previous $5bn IMF programme expired last year.