At the end of March 2025, the IMF Executive Board is expected to make a decision on the seventh review of the Program. At the same time, one structural benchmark was implemented with a significant delay, and another – the cancellation of the Lozovyi amendments – was not implemented. That is, the revision of the Program was again ensured by the IMF’s flexibility. At the same time, the tranche requested by the government was reduced to USD 0.4 bn.
During the review, new structural benchmarks are traditionally added, which are important to fulfill to receive funds from the IMF in a timely manner. So we are waiting for the review and the updated table of structural benchmarks.
The IMF program remains important for coordinating international support for Ukraine. At the same time, Ukraine continues to fall behind in implementing structural benchmarks. In March 2025, Ukraine received the fifth tranche of budget support from the EU under the Ukraine Facility. This was preceded by the timely fulfillment of the indicators of the Ukraine Plan in the fourth quarter of 2024. Ukraine has slowed down in meeting the indicators for the Q1 2025: traditionally, some of the indicators will be adopted in the last days of the quarter.
Successful cooperation with international partners is critically important for Ukraine. It is crucial for the financing of priority state budget expenditures (domestic revenues are used for security and defense). That is why the RRR4U Consortium continues to regularly monitor Ukraine’s compliance with the IMF financing program and the implementation of the Ukraine Plan, which is the basis for EU assistance under the Ukraine Facility.
Fulfillment of obligations under financial support programs is not needed by donors – they are needed by Ukraine to achieve economic stability and transition to growth and increase the welfare of Ukrainians. And it is also a way to gain trust from all international partners and foreign businesses. The IMF program and the Ukraine Plan are not the only commitments Ukraine has made to its external partners. There are also reforms needed to receive funds from the World Bank. There is also a wide range of reforms that Ukraine needs to implement to become an EU member.
