Kiev to Receive $4Bln From International Lenders - Prime Minister

KIEV (Sputnik) — Financial assistance to Ukraine from the United States, the European Union and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will amount to some $4 billion, Ukraine's Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said on Friday.

"The International Monetary Fund program's next installment will amount to $1.7 billion, and if Ukraine carries on the required reforms, the total [financial aid] after the installment will come to four billion dollars, including the $1.7 billion from the International Monetary Fund, as well as one billion dollars in loan guarantees from the United States and European Union macro-financial assistance," Yatsenyuk said.

On March 11, the IMF approved a four-year $17.5-billion assistance package to support the Ukrainian government’s economic program, to help the country recover economically, restore sustainability, strengthen public finances and support growth by paying for structural and government reforms. All told, Ukraine's international donors are due to channel about $40 billion over the same period.

In a shrinking economy, Ukraine's government debt hit 70 percent of GDP last year, Ukraine's national bank data said. The IMF loans come with austerity measures, with the fund setting a government spending deficit ceiling at 3.7 percent of GDP in the coming year as a condition for receiving loan installments.