IMF mission visits Kyiv May 27

Ukrainian Finance Minister Sergii Marchenko said an International Monetary Fund mission is expected in Kyiv on May 27 for the first review of Ukraine’s four-year, $8.1 billion Extended Fund Facility. Interfax-Ukraine reported the timing on May 22, after IMF spokesperson Julie Kozack said the Fund would send a mission to Ukraine in the coming weeks for the review. The review is the first formal checkpoint under a 48-month IMF arrangement approved on February 26. The IMF said the package totals SDR 5.9353 billion, or about $8.1 billion, and is part of a broader $136.5 billion international support package for Ukraine. (en.interfax.com.ua) The IMF’s February decision released an immediate first tranche of about $1.5 billion for budget support. Interfax-Ukraine reported that the remaining financing is scheduled in nine further tranches tied to future reviews and program conditions. ### Why is the May 27 visit more than a routine meeting? (imf.org) May 27 matters because the mission will test whether Ukraine is meeting the fiscal and reform commitments attached to the new arrangement. Julie Kozack said the discussions would cover domestic financing as part of the first review. The IMF’s approval documents set the program against what the Fund called “exceptionally high” uncertainty from Russia’s war. (imf.org) In that framework, the Fund said the arrangement was designed to support macroeconomic stability, restore fiscal and debt sustainability, and advance reforms while Ukraine remains under wartime pressure. (en.interfax.com.ua) ### What exactly is the Extended Fund Facility meant to do? The Extended Fund Facility is the IMF’s medium-term lending instrument for countries that need sustained policy adjustment rather than a short emergency bridge. In Ukraine’s case, the IMF said the arrangement is intended to anchor fiscal policy, support the budget, strengthen institutions and help catalyze financing from other official partners. (imf.org) Marchenko said when staff-level agreement on the program was reached in November that the EFF would serve as a “cornerstone” for cooperation with international partners and would pave the way for large-scale donor financing, including from G7 countries and the European Union. That language has made the IMF program a reference point for other lenders assessing Ukraine’s policy commitments. (imf.org) ### What will IMF staff examine in Kyiv? Ukraine’s Finance Ministry said earlier rounds of talks under the arrangement focused on the 2026 state budget, the medium-term fiscal forecast, the financial sector and structural reforms. The ministry said Marchenko, senior deputy ministers and government debt management officials were part of those discussions. (mof.gov.ua) The IMF’s published program documents also point to revenue measures, debt management, governance reforms and broader macroeconomic performance as core parts of the arrangement. Those benchmarks and quantitative targets are the basis on which staff assess whether a review can move forward. ### What happens if the review is completed? (mof.gov.ua) An IMF mission does not itself release money. If staff and Ukrainian officials reach staff-level agreement in Kyiv, the review would still need approval by the IMF Executive Board before another disbursement can be made, as the Fund noted in prior Ukraine review statements. (imf.org) The next formal step after the May 27 mission, if talks are successful, would be a staff-level agreement followed by Board consideration in Washington. The IMF has not yet published a Board date for the first review, but the mission’s findings will determine whether the next tranche under the $8.1 billion program advances. (en.interfax.com.ua) (imf.org)