Ukraine

The International Monetary Fund began its latest assessment of its loan program with Ukraine, even as Kyiv delays passing tax legislation as the lender expects, Bloomberg News reported. The Washington-based lender sent its staff to the Ukrainian capital for talks that may open a path for another $1.1 billion tranche under the four-year initiative, according to a statement from Ukraine’s Finance Ministry published Monday.
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The European Union’s top official said on a trip to Kyiv on Friday that Europe would offer Ukraine a loan of 35 billion euros, about $39 billion, backed by frozen Russian assets, the New York Times reported. European leaders said the loan would move forward initially without contributions from the United States, after talks between American and European officials stalled in recent days. The official, Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, met with President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine to reiterate Europe’s continued support for his country.
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A long-awaited plan to help Ukraine rebuild using Russian money is in limbo as the United States and Europe struggle to agree on how to construct a $50 billion loan using Russia’s frozen central bank assets while complying with their own laws, the New York Times reported. The fraught negotiations reflect the challenges facing the Group of 7 nations as they attempt to push their sanctions powers to new limits in an attempt to punish Russia and aid Ukraine. American and European officials have been scrambling in recent weeks to try to get the loan in place by the end of the year.
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Ukrainian officials are preparing for the International Monetary Fund this week to push it to devalue its currency faster, cut interest rates and strengthen its tax-raising efforts to fill the country’s budget gap, Bloomberg News reported. IMF staff visiting Kyiv are expected to pressure the war-torn country to pursue those steps to continue receiving financial support, as they undertake a scheduled review of a $15.6 billion loan program, Ukrainian officials with the knowledge of the topic said after preliminary discussions with the fund.
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Ukraine received widespread support from private creditors to restructure its overseas bonds, allowing the nation to secure much-needed debt relief to finance its fight against Russian aggression, Bloomberg News reported. The agreement more than two years after Russia’s invasion marks a swift resolution of the debt revamp following two rounds of negotiations in June and July, in which Kyiv asked bondholders to accept bigger losses than they initially aimed for.
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Despite all its recent freight growth and international expansion plans, Ukrainian Railways now finds itself in a problematic situation, railtech.com reported. The Ukrainian operator says that it is facing potential bankruptcy, after a number of companies have succeeded in annulling a 2021 rail tariff hike via a Kyiv court. Ukrainian Railways announces that it is now in troubled waters, according to a post on its Telegram channel. “Private companies using the courts are trying to reduce tariffs for themselves, which will cause the bankruptcy and shutdown of Ukrainian Railways,” it says.

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