Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal has said that Ukraine needs to pay off an equivalent of $3.5bn in external debts and $5.5bn in domestic ones.
Without the support of international organizations, "we will just have to fall into the abyss of financial default", the head of government said on the Freedom of Speech TV talk show late on 30 March.
“The fact that this year we have to pay off a certain amount of obligations, an equivalent of $3.5bn in external obligations, an equivalent of $5.5bn in internal obligations. And given the challenges we are facing with the coronavirus pandemic, of course, we must first channel the money to protect the health and lives of our citizens rather than pay off external debts. Therefore, without the support of external international organizations, in order to pay off external and internal debts, we just have to fall into this abyss of financial default. We do not want this and do not expect such an option," the prime minister said.
Shmyhal added that the approved new macroeconomic forecast is balanced, it was developed based on the forecast of the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Finance and the IMF.Earlier on 30 March, parliament failed to approve the cabinet's bill on amendments to the 2020 state budget.