The IMF is sending its first mission to Russia since the start of the major war

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) will send a mission to Russia for the first time since the beginning of the full-scale war in Ukraine. The mission will begin work online on September 16 and continue with an IMF delegation’s visit to Moscow for meetings with Russian officials (until October 1). This decision has already faced sharp criticism in Ukraine. Simultaneously, the IMF has begun negotiations with Ukraine on expanded financing.

Reuters reports on the mission.

It is noted that the IMF will be the first major international financial organization to send an official mission to Russia after its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

However, there is no mention of the IMF intending to finance Russia in any way. Thus, the mission may have other objectives and purposes different from assisting the aggressor. Nevertheless, the fact of the mission itself remains controversial.

“The last time the IMF’s annual mission visited Russia was in November 2019, before the COVID pandemic began. Since the start of the war in Ukraine, there has been no IMF mission to Russia. … Many Western countries raised the issue of possibly excluding Russia from the IMF … but this proved difficult due to resistance from some members, such as China and India,” the report states.

It is also emphasized that, starting from November 1, Russia’s representative to the IMF will be Ksenia Yudaeva, former First Deputy Chairperson of the Bank of Russia, who:

• Is a close associate of Elvira Nabiullina, the head of Russia’s central bank;
• Has been under sanctions since April 2022 as the chair of the board of directors of “Otkritie Bank,” which was previously owned by Russia’s central bank.

“The bank was sold to state-owned creditor VTB in 2022. Since then, Yudaeva has left ‘Otkritie.’ The IMF stated that it is verifying information about Yudaeva’s nomination,” the article says.

Meanwhile, Tymofiy Mylovanov, an advisor to the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, strongly criticized the upcoming IMF mission to Russia. He stated that the IMF has destroyed its reputation by doing so.

“The next representative of Russia in the IMF will be a Russian banker under U.S. sanctions. For the IMF, U.S. sanctions don’t apply. What right does the IMF have to say anything to anyone after this? This is complete destruction of its reputation,” he said.

Mylovanov also reminded that it was the IMF that insisted that Russian assets abroad cannot be confiscated, suggesting that “for these people, ethics, human rights, and morality mean nothing.” He implied that money “comes first.”

“This will be the first mission since the war began. Earlier, such missions were not sent due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. I understand that the IMF has decided that this invasion is over and normal relations can resume,” he concluded.