The head of the IMF has urged Ukraine’s allies to rapidly unlock tens of billions of dollars for the country, as she warned delays in providing the extra funding would jeopardise Kyiv’s tentative economic recovery.
Kyiv can manage a likely short-term funding gap of “a couple of months,” said Kristalina Georgieva in an interview, praising the authorities after they had “revitalised the economy”, tamed inflation and strengthened Ukraine’s tax base.
But with the US and EU still haggling over financing packages for the country, she said Ukraine’s economic revival would be endangered if it is forced to “adjust” to an absence of fresh financial support. Further delays could force Kyiv to return to destabilising policies such as printing money, as it did a few months after Russia’s invasion last year.