The IMF will adjust its approach and will no longer include the “end of the war” in its forecasts. This was announced by First Deputy Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada Oleksandr Korniyenko during a discussion within the framework of the New Country project organised by LB and EFI Group.
Oleksandr Korniyenko stressed that Ukraine is facing mounting financial and domestic political challenges. The country is now in a position where it must increase its budget deficit and currently lacks the funds to pay military salaries.
“They [the IMF] always said: next year the war will end, next year the war will pause, there will be a truce, and so on. Now, I think we have come to an understanding with them that it is wrong to plan in this way, because then you do not take into account all the risks of the next year and you end up in the situation we are in now, when the Ministry of Finance is forced to go to the government for tough negotiations with them on increasing the deficit, because we have nothing to pay the military for another two months, and that is the situation now,” he said.
Ukraine is counting on the continuation of European funding programmes and on receiving funds from frozen Russian assets.