In total, over the two years of the full-scale war, Ukraine has attracted more than $75 billion in foreign aid. The state spends only domestic resources on security and defence. Other areas require assistance from partners. About $37 billion was raised in 2022, and over $42 billion in 2023. For this year, the state needs at least 37 billion, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said at the annual press conference.
The key donors of direct budget support are the European Union, the United States, Japan, Canada, and the IMF. In total, dozens of countries are helping.
"This year's budget deficit is more than 20% of our GDP - UAH 37 billion. Of course, we expect to raise $17.3 billion from the EU's Ukraine Facility mechanisms," the Prime Minister said.
The first funding is due in March, in the amount of €4.5 billion. The funds are needed to cover the deficit. In January and February, Ukraine managed with internal resources and borrowings "without a payment crisis." The IMF is to provide $5.4 billion this year, and the first payment of $900 million is also expected in March. Shmyhal explained that the IMF is combining the assistance of the G7 countries in the total amount of $122 billion for four years - this is a certain guarantee that the IMF understands that we will cover the budget deficit in full over four years with the help of our partners.
"We are grateful to our partners. We expect financial assistance from the United States. We are currently having internal discussions. We are all aware of them. We are actively working with our key partner and ally. I think we will have good news in the coming periods," the Prime Minister said.
The Prime Minister also added that Ukraine has three key tasks for this year. The first is to ensure the Defence Forces and their resilience during the war. The second is to ensure economic sustainability and macro-financial stability, to build an economy that will run on military rails and create the preconditions for high-quality stable development after the war. The third task is to continue reforms on the path to the European Union.
"Of course, in addition to the EU, we have a way to join the OECD, a club of rich countries, the Organisation for Economic Development and Cooperation. We are also working on this," he said.
Ukraine is also working towards NATO membership, which is important in terms of our security conditions and guarantees for the future.