NBU: $22 bln of $35 bln external financial assistance for Ukraine in 2026 already confirmed

MOSCOW. July 25 (Interfax) - Only $22 billion of the $35-billion external financial assistance required by Ukraine in 2026 has already been confirmed, and talks on the rest are underway with partners, including the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Ukrainian media quoted NBU Governor Andrei Pyshny as saying at a press briefing on Thursday.

"We understand that $35 billion in external financing is envisaged for 2026 at this point, and these are our expectations, this is our baseline scenario. A total of $22 billion of these funds has already been confirmed," Pyshny was quoted as saying.

Both the finance minister and the new prime minister have already announced it, and the entire Ukrainian team is working to precisely define the sources that should supply Ukraine with the sufficient and stable flow of international financial assistance, he said. Negotiations on the amounts that still required are continuing with the IMF.

"And, as it has already been noted on a number of occasions, our interaction with the IMF will be part of these talks. We are working with it in order to formulate a certain concept and an approach to a new program of cooperation and extended financing, which will take account of the new realities related to security risks, the dynamics of macroeconomic recovery and geopolitics," Pyshny said.

NBU Deputy Governor Yury Gelety, for his part, commended on the reduction of Ukraine's international reserves by $4 billion.

"The reduction by $4 billion from the previous forecast is due, first and foremost, to higher demand for imported goods against the backdrop of the vast budget deficit, as well as smaller export volumes because of the harvest situation and the abolition of the trade liberalization measures with the European Union," Gelety said.