27 October 2016, 14:39 GMT
KIEV (Sputnik) — An International Monetary Fund’s (IMF's) mission to Ukraine started its work on Thursday with the aim to study the state of Ukraine's economy and decide on further funding, a spokesperson for the IMF Office in Ukraine said.
In late October, IMF spokesperson Gerry Rice said that the mission to Ukraine would visit the country in early November to discuss the next financial aid tranche with Kiev.
"The mission started its work today… The final date of completion of mission's work is still unknown," the representative told RIA Novosti.
In September, the IMF executive board approved a new $1-billion tranche to Ukraine. The amount of the aid package had been reduced from the originally planned $1.7 billion. The IMF has noted it could allocate a total of $2.3 billion to Ukraine by the end of 2016.
On March 11, 2015, the IMF approved a four-year program of financial aid to Ukraine, which stipulates a $17.5-billion loan to be paid out in a number of installments over the next four years and originally open for reviewing on a quarterly basis.
Ukraine heavily relies on foreign aid to support its economy and to pay debts amid the ongoing armed conflict with independence supporters in the country's southeast.
