Lithuania is among key supporters of Ukraine in approving the new IMF programme
Today, the Government meeting agreed for Lithuania to join the supporters of Ukraine – a political statement of a group of countries with financing assurances for fulfilment of Ukraine’s commitments to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in the future. This is a prerequisite for the IMF’s approval of a new USD 8.1 billion programme for Ukraine in the near future.
A political statement confirming the readiness of the countries to continue supporting Ukraine and ensuring the country’s capacity to meet its commitments to the IMF is provided by Lithuania together with the countries that have already notified it – the Netherlands, Sweden and Denmark – and, according to the information currently available, with five of the G7 countries – Italy, the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Canada. Other countries are also considering the possibility of joining the statement.
“As Russia continues its relentless military aggression, Ukraine needs macroeconomic stability for the country to successfully continue its fight and implement the necessary reforms. This requires a new IMF programme to meet today's reality. We will always be the ones who will not only contribute to various support initiatives for the defending country but will also encourage other countries to unrestingly help Ukraine in every possible way”, assured Minister of Finance Kristupas Vaitiekūnas.
Lithuania had already joined the same statement in spring 2023, when the IMF approved a USD 15.6 billion 4-year programme for Ukraine. A joint statement was then made by the G7 countries together with Belgium, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia and Spain. The programme has been subject to regular reviews, with 8 successful reviews resulting in disbursement of USD 10.6 billion.
A new USD 8.1 billion 48-month IMF programme would address both Ukraine’s short- and medium-term financing needs, implement fiscal and monetary policy measures that would ensure the maintenance of macroeconomic stability, the restoration of debt sustainability and external resilience, the fight against corruption, the improvement of governance, and would encourage broader external support to address Ukraine’s financing shortfalls.
Following the joint political statement of the countries in the form of financial assurances, the new IMF programme for Ukraine is expected to be approved at the IMF Executive Board meeting on 11 February 2026.
At the end of 2022, the IMF approved a 4-month non-financial monitoring programme for Ukraine covering revenue mobilisation, domestic debt, financial sector and transparency and governance.
In February 2023, Ukraine and the IMF reached an agreement that the aforementioned monitoring programme was successfully implemented — all quantitative and indicative targets, as well as structural guidance covering fiscal policy, governance and financial sector have been met. A successful implementation of the monitoring programme opened the door for Ukraine to reach a USD 15.6 billion 48-month funding programme at the end of March of the same year.
The programme has been subject to regular reviews, with the successful approval of 8 reviews during which quantitative and indicative targets have been met, as well as structural guidelines, covering fiscal policy, governance and the financial sector, have been implemented. Moreover, this programme has successfully laid the foundations for structural reforms and the necessary transformation of the country towards the membership of the European Union.