IMF Urges Ukraine to Raise Aid Gap Forecast to $65 Billion

Ukraine has sharply revised its estimate of Western financing needs after discussions with the International Monetary Fund, which urged Kyiv to increase its projected aid shortfall through 2027 to $65 billion, up from a previous forecast of $38 billion.

The Gaze reports this, referring to Bloomberg.

According to the outlet’s sources, the revision followed talks with the IMF, although neither side has publicly confirmed the details. 

Ukraine has already exhausted much of its current $15.5 billion IMF program, which runs until 2027, and is preparing negotiations on a new four-year lending package worth around $8 billion in November.

The revised projections have been sent to the European Commission. Brussels, Ukraine’s largest donor, is expected to cover a significant share of the shortfall, with plans now extending beyond profits from frozen Russian assets to potentially using the assets themselves. These funds have been blocked since Moscow’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.

The IMF attributed Ukraine’s rising financial needs to mounting defense expenditures and broader risks to stability. Complicating matters, Washington’s readiness to sustain support is seen as less certain under President Donald Trump’s administration. 

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is meeting Donald Trump today in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly to push for continued U.S. support.

Earlier this year, Ukraine’s Finance Ministry projected $75 billion in foreign aid needs for 2026–2027, leaving $37.4 billion without a clear funding source. The National Bank of Ukraine separately estimated requirements at $65 billion, two-thirds of which remain unresolved.

As The Gaze previously reported, Ukraine’s Finance Minister Serhii Marchenko said in Copenhagen that Ukraine has received over $145 billion in international financial assistance since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in 2022.