IMF board approves US$900 million in funds for Ukraine as IMF chief Georgieva meets Zelensky
- IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is visiting Washington
- Zelensky will meet with Joe Biden and US officials as he seeks to shore up support for continued US security
The International Monetary Fund’s executive board (IMF) on Monday approved a US$900 million disbursement for Ukraine from its US$15.6 billion loan programme, hours before IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Georgieva met with Zelensky for nearly an hour at IMF headquarters in Washington and told him the IMF’s executive board was unanimous in its support for Ukraine, apart from one country, IMF officials said, in a clear reference to Russia.
The board approved a staff agreement reached last month with Ukrainian authorities after the second review of Kyiv’s progress on a four-year Extended Fund Facility loan approved earlier this year. That paves the way for US$900 million disbursement, bringing total IMF funding for Ukraine this year to US$4.5 billion.
“The EFF continues to provide a strong anchor for the authorities’ economic programme, and its implementation has been broadly on track despite the extremely challenging backdrop,” the IMF said in a statement.
Georgieva said Ukraine’s economy had proven resilient despite Russia’s invasion in February 2022 and the “enormous social and economic costs” it posed.