The Governing Council of the International Monetary Fund today approved a $15.6 billion aid package signed on March 21 with the Ukrainian government, paving the way for the disbursement of a first $2.7 billion tranche.

This loan is granted to help the country meet its urgent financial needs. It is the largest loan Ukraine has received since the Russian invasion on February 24, 2022, and the first major aid package approved by the IMF to a country embroiled in active conflict.

The four-year aid package is expected to “support gradual economic growth while creating the conditions for long-term growth in a context of post-conflict reconstruction and on the path to EU integration,” the IMF said in a statement.

This support is part of an overall economic assistance program of 115 billion dollars, of which 2 billion is a partial cancellation of the existing debt.

The remaining $80 billion will be provided by “bilateral and multilateral donors, for $20 billion in the form of grants, the remaining $60 billion in the form of a soft loan,” an IMF spokesman explained.

The new aid package in a first year will help the Ukrainian government guarantee a “stable budget for 2023”, allowing the strengthening of the state’s finances while helping to reduce inflation.

The second stage will aim to implement the necessary structural reforms “to ensure macroeconomic stability and support post-war recovery and reconstruction”.

Ukraine has received significant support since the beginning of the conflict, on February 24, 2022, both from the World Bank, which has already granted it more than $20 billion, in the form of loans or grants, and from the United States, which they gave it more than 110 billion dollars including military support.

A significant portion of these resources contributed to maintaining the functioning of public services and paying the salaries of civil servants, as well as providing care to the internally displaced.

The IMF is counting on a partial and gradual economic recovery this year in Ukraine, mainly thanks to the maintenance of key infrastructure such as the electricity grid, which is still the target of Russian bombing.