Ukraine to repay IMF — first time since 2022

Ukraine will pay the first installment of its Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI) from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The transfer of funds is scheduled for today, June 9.

According to Forbes Ukraine, this is the first time Ukraine will repay the external debt raised after the full-scale invasion in 2022.

How much and when should Ukraine pay the IMF?

Ukraine received $2.67 billion in two tranches under the Emergency Fund Facility program in 2022. Repayment begins today and will last until October 2027.

Payments will be made in 16 installments, evenly distributed over time. The first tranche, which is due today, amounts to $171 million at the current exchange rate and represents a 6% repayment of the debt.

Ukraine must pay the International Monetary Fund $3 billion in 2025, of which:

• $2.3 billion to repay the debt;
• $0.7 billion for interest payments.

Since the beginning of this year, Ukraine has repaid $1.3 billion of the debt and $0.4 billion in interest.

At the same time, Ukraine has received one tranche of the EFF loan program from the IMF, totaling $0.4 billion, since the beginning of 2025. Three more tranches totaling $2 billion are expected by the end of the year.

Why has Ukraine started paying off its wartime debt now?

Economist Oleh Ustenko, former advisor to the President of Ukraine (2019-2024), explained on Ranok.LIVE that the debt burden has been growing since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine.

At the beginning of the war, country's debt-to-GDP ratio was about 40%. By the end of 2025, it will be about 100%. This debt was incurred on both the domestic and foreign markets. We have loans from international and European financial institutions, including the IMF, which we must partially repay.

"If the country does not repay the funds under the IMF cooperation program, it will no longer receive additional funds. The same applies to loans from the European Union," the expert said.

The economist also emphasized that this situation has arisen primarily because Ukraine is at war. After all, Ukraine is now forced to spend about 30% of its GDP to maintain its defense capabilities. Meanwhile, most NATO countries do not spend even 2% of their GDP on defense.

Without external assistance, Ukraine will not be able to withstand the budgetary burden and will be forced to take out loans to finance not only the army, but also social programs such as salaries and pensions.

As a reminder, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced his intention to put the country's armed forces on high alert. He claims this is necessary due to growing threats from Russia and global instability.

Earlier, the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, stated that Russia continues to look for ways to drag out the full-scale war in Ukraine. The leader noted that Russians are "bargaining for it".