The International Monetary Fund’s executive board has approved a four-year $US15.6 billion loan program for Ukraine, part of a global $US115 billion package to support the country’s economy as it battles Russia’s 13-month-old invasion.
The loan is the first major conventional financing program approved by the IMF for a country involved in a large-scale war. Deeper reforms would be required in the second phase of the program to enhance stability and early post-war reconstruction, returning to pre-war fiscal and monetary policy frameworks, boosting competitiveness and addressing energy sector vulnerabilities, the IMF said.A senior US Treasury official said the program was “really solid” and included commitments from Ukrainian authorities to achieve 19 structural benchmarks over the next year alone.