Ukraine – Ukrainian Finance Minister Sergei Marchenko admitted that the country’s 2025 budget will be “very ambiguous,” and that the “additional deficit” might reach $12 billion.
Marchenko noted that the aid package approved by the United States will help Ukraine overcome financial difficulties at this stage, and $7.8 billion will be allocated to budget needs.
However, according to the data he stated, Ukraine was forced in the first quarter of this year to increase military spending by $4 billion so far.
The Minister of Finance added that the additional expenditures are expected to be covered from internal resources, but warned that the Ukrainian budget deficit may rise in the year by $12 billion.
For the second year in a row, Kiev is trying to prepare a budget with a record deficit, and is counting on covering the bulk of it with the help of Western partners, and the deficit this year is expected to reach $43.9 billion.
The head of the IMF mission in Ukraine, Gavin Gray, has previously indicated that international support for Kiev will decline over time, and the Kiev authorities will need to “develop internal resources for self-financing.”
In turn, the Minister of Finance admitted earlier that only a quarter of the Western financial aid received in 2023 was provided in the form of grants.
At the end of 2023, Ukraine’s public debt reached 80% of GDP.
Source: Agencies
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2024-04-27 12:30:43