The IMF Board of Directors has approved the Stand-by Arrangement for Ukraine. In the next day or two, Ukraine is to receive the first tranche of the IMF loan to the tune of US$2.1 billion. Throughout the 18 months, our country will receive US$5 billion for 5 years.

The Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal stated on air of the Ukraine-24 TV channel.

Apart from that, the Head of Government stressed that during the final negotiations with the IMF Director, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy had reached an agreement on an increase of the first tranche from US$1.9 billion to US$2.1 billion.

"The IMF responded with understanding to the crisis situation and to Ukraine's proposal to increase the size of the first tranche," the Prime Minister said, adding that the IMF funds would be transferred directly to the state budget of Ukraine.

Meanwhile, Denys Shmyhal emphasized that the Memorandum with the IMF having been approved the previous day does not stipulate for new requirements for Ukraine to implement structural reforms, but it contains transformations crucial for Ukraine. "They are quite simple, but significant for Ukraine. It is the fight against corruption, it is a balanced policy in the budget sphere. Ukraine, as a State, is interested in implementing these changes," said the Prime Minister.

Moreover, Denys Shmyhal accentuated that the agreement with the IMF does not contain "any requirements for changing the retirement age." With regard to tariff policy, the Head of Government stressed that the tariffs for heating services include a fixed gas tariff of more than UAH 6.5 thousand per thousand cubic meters, while the market price for gas is twofold. In order to ensure the Ukrainian citizens not to overpay for heating next season, the Prime Minister is convinced that the price of gas for the population should be a market price from the very beginning, because "in fact today the market price of gas is UAH 3,200 per thousand cubic meters."

Apart from that, the PM told that following this tranche of the IMF Ukraine also expected funding from the World Bank in the amount of US$1 billion, the fourth and fifth packages of macro-financial assistance from the European Union in the amount of EUR1.2 billion and EUR500 million, respectively, which are the IMF Arrangement-related. "With the first tranche of the IMF, we are now receiving more than US$3 billion in equivalent in the budget. This will allow us to provide stability and to get through a period of coronavirus-inflicted crisis," Denys Shmyhal concluded.