Ukraine has requested a crisis meeting on the budget situation for 2024 with international aid and lenders in the EU and the G7 countries.
In a letter to the group that assists Ukraine with financing and follows the needs, Prime Minister Denis Shmyhal writes that there is extreme uncertainty about the finances at the beginning of next year. Money is needed already in January to cover basic budget needs, according to the letter.
The situation has become extra critical because over $100 billion in aid is stuck in the US and the EU due to political infighting. In the United States, Republicans are blocking President Biden’s support package in Congress. In the EU, Hungary is the only country to have vetoed more aid to Ukraine.
“In order to maintain macroeconomic stability, it is crucial that we can get sufficient, fast and predictable financing, starting in January 2024,” Shmyhal writes in the letter, which the Bloomberg news agency has seen.
Ukraine’s Ministry of Finance announced last week that the needs are 37.3 billion dollars for 2024. This year, Ukraine has received 42 billion dollars in external support.