Balance in the negative: by the end of 2024, Ukraine will pay the IMF more on old debts than it will receive from new loans

By the end of 2024, Ukraine will have to repay more in loans to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) than the new $1.1 billion loan tranche (834.8 million SDR) that the Ukrainian government agreed on at the staff level (Staff-Level Agreement, SLA) during the fifth review of the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) program. This agreement was reached during the IMF mission that worked in Kyiv from September 4 to 10.

This morning, the National Bank officially announced the conclusion of the mission. Its chairman, Andriy Pyshnyi, noted that “he counts on continued support from the Fund.”

At the same time, journalists obtained a repayment schedule for previously provided IMF loans and contributions, which shows that in September 2024, Ukraine must pay the Fund 542 million SDR, or $732.6 million, and by the end of the year—a total of 991.9 million SDR, or $1.3 billion.

This means that Ukraine’s repayments from September to December will exceed the tranche agreed with the IMF by $200 million, although the government has not yet received the tranche.

After the full-scale invasion began, the Cabinet managed to negotiate the restructuring of its eurobond debts. However, Ukraine has received no relief or deferrals for IMF loans since February 24, 2022, and continues to make payments according to the schedule.

“Our officials tried to discuss not even the restructuring of debts to the Fund but deferrals during active hostilities early in the war. However, the Fund immediately shut down that conversation and strongly recommended continuing to pay on schedule if we expect new IMF tranches,” one expert close to the government told journalists.