IMF sets conditions for Ukraine to secure $8B program

Agreement details

According to her, on November 26, IMF staff and the Ukrainian authorities reached a staff-level agreement on a new four-year Extended Fund Facility (EFF) arrangement with potential access to 8.1 billion US dollars.

She added that the program will be implemented "subject to the completion of the prior actions, receipt of adequate financing assurances from donors, and, of course, approval by the IMF's Executive Board.''

Tax increases

In addition, the IMF outlined additional conditions for approving the new program with Ukraine — the so-called prior actions.

"In addition to the budget, which I just mentioned, some other areas include a tax base, broadening the tax base by enacting legislation to tax income that is earned through digital platforms, closing customs loopholes for consumer goods imports, and removing exemptions for VAT registration," Kozack said.

"Agreement was also reached on measures to tackle economic informality, including by increasing competition in public procurement and addressing loopholes in the current labor code," Kozack added.

Implementation of reforms

Kozack emphasized the Ukrainian authorities' commitment to reforms.

"The authorities have signaled that they remain committed to the reform agenda, and this includes domestic revenue mobilization, tackling economic informality, safeguarding independent anti-corruption institutions, and debt restructuring to restore sustainability," she said.

Financing

Regarding financing, the IMF representative explained:

"The size of the financing gaps, which I know has been a topic of some discussion here or questions, we estimate the size of the financing gap during the duration of the program to be US $136.5 billion. That's over the duration of the program. For 2026 in particular, we estimate, or 2026 into 2027 a bit, we estimate the financing gap, a residual financing gap of $63 billion," she stated.

Fight against corruption

Kozack also emphasized the importance of combating corruption.

"What we've seen is that the recent developments in Ukraine underscore once again the importance of resolutely tackling corruption in Ukraine, improving governance, and continuing to reform state-owned enterprises. As we've said in the past, Ukraine needs a robust anti-corruption architecture that will help level the playing field in Ukraine. It will help safeguard public resources; it will improve the business climate, and that will also help Ukraine ultimately attract private investment," the IMF representative stressed.

According to Kozack, the Ukrainian government agreed ''to continue reforms to tax and customs services, including by appointing a new customs head and improving IT systems to boost efficiency and to work to rebuild public trust.''

Adoption of the budget

Regarding the 2026 budget, the IMF representative noted: "Enactment of the 2026 budget was one of the prior actions that was agreed with the authorities. The team is currently assessing the full text of the budget, but the preliminary assessment is that it's broadly in line with the program commitments.''

Debt restructuring

Kozack emphasized that any agreement on debt restructuring (which includes the exchange of warrants for bonds) will be evaluated in terms of ensuring debt sustainability and, of course, the availability of the necessary financing assurances that Ukraine needs as part of the program.

New EFF program

Ukraine and the International Monetary Fund reached a staff-level agreement on a new lending program. The program's total volume is $ 8.2 billion.

Earlier, the head of the Budget Committee of the Verkhovna Rada (Ukraine's parliament), Roksolana Pidlasa, commented on the 8-billion-dollar IMF program, stating that it is less than expected and less than needed.

According to her, the launch of the new program is expected in January, with the first disbursement also anticipated that month.