U.K. to provide USD 500 mln loan guarantee for Ukraine as IMF mission starts

23 February 2022

The British government is going to provide up to USD 500 mln in loan guarantees for Ukraine to support it and “mitigate the economic effects of Russian aggression,” its website reported on Feb. 23. “This economic support comes on top of increased support for military equipment from the Ministry of Defence and enhanced support to the humanitarian system in Ukraine,” the British government stated.

 

In related news, the IMF reported on Feb. 23 that it is starting on this day a virtual mission to discuss the second review of the IMF’s stand by program. According to the initial schedule, the IMF is ready to provide a loan tranche to Ukraine worth USD 700 mln following the second program’s review and USD 1550 mln more if Ukraine passes the third review.

 

Alexander Paraschiy: With the U.K. guarantee and the likely IMF tranche, along with the USD 350 mln support announced by the World Bank this weekend, as well as the millions in support promised by the American, German, French and Canadian governments earlier in February and the EU’s MFA loan tranche, Ukraine has been already promised to get over USD 4.0 bln in conventional loans from its Western partners. If fully withdrawn, such loans will offset Ukraine's Finance Ministry’s foreign debt repayment needs for the entire year of 2022 (USD 2.5 bln). Most of the loans are conditional on Ukraine’s reform path committed to the IMF, so Ukraine still has to do its homework to ensure the availability of such financing.