On Friday, the International Monetary Fund declared that it had reached an agreement with Ukraine’s staff on revised economic and financial strategies. This will allow for a payment of $900 million from the $15.6 billion loan program, pending approval from the board.

The international lending institution announced that its executive board will review the agreement in the upcoming weeks.

According to the statement, Ukraine has successfully fulfilled all quantitative performance standards by the end of June, as well as the indicative targets set for the end of September and most of the structural benchmarks outlined in the IMF’s Extended Fund Facility program.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) stated that despite Russia’s invasion in February 2022, the Ukrainian economy has exhibited impressive resilience. The IMF also noted positive economic developments that indicate a stronger-than-anticipated recovery in 2023 and continued growth in 2024, along with significant disinflation.

“In spite of the difficult circumstances, the program has generally remained on schedule,” stated Gavin Gray, the IMF representative who conducted talks with Ukrainian representatives in Poland this week.

The IMF staff announced a revised prediction for real GDP growth in 2023, increasing it to 4.5% from the previous range of 1% to 3%. However, they anticipate a decrease in growth for 2024, ranging from 3% to 4%.

He stated that the ongoing conflict in Ukraine is causing severe harm to the people and the economy due to persistent attacks on crucial infrastructure and frequent air strikes across the country.

Gray stated that Ukraine’s fiscal deficit continued to be significantly high, indicating the heavy economic and societal toll of the war. This has resulted in substantial and ongoing financial requirements.

An essential task is passing a legislation to completely reinstate tax audits and initiating the National Revenue Strategy in December as scheduled. The officials must be prepared to implement further revenue measures and should persist in their endeavors to secure funding from the local bond market, according to his statement.