Kiev admits dependence on international aid, forecasts 2024 budget deficit of nearly $45 billion

In a statement on Rada TV on January 6, the head of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) Andrey Pyshny emphasized that the country will still be heavily dependent on international financial support.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba said Kiev had no contingency plans if Western allies cut aid. (Source: Reuters)

According to the NBU official, 2023 is an unprecedented and extremely difficult year, and he suggested using budgetary emission financing to strengthen macroeconomic financial stability.

Ukraine’s budget is forecast to run a record $43.5 billion deficit in 2024, and the government plans to cover much of that deficit with support from Western allies. Meanwhile, the US Congress is stalling on aid to Ukraine. In addition, at a summit in December 2023, the EU failed to agree on a four-year financial aid program for Kiev worth 50 billion euros ($54.8 billion).

Earlier, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba said Kiev did not have any backup plans in case Western allies cut aid.

On the same day, Ukrainian MP Alexey Goncharenko said that in 2023, the budget deficit of the Ministry of Defense of this country reached 36%, equivalent to about 11.3 billion USD. The above figures were announced at a meeting of the National Security Committee of Ukraine.

MP Goncharenko also said that Ukraine has no chance of standing firm in the conflict with Russia without financial support from the US. In addition, he also said that Kiev needs to quickly “change its strategy”.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/tinh-hinh-ukraine-kiev-thua-nhan-phu-thuoc-vao-vien-tro-quoc-te-du-bao-ngan-sach-nam-2024-tham-hut-gan-45-ty-usd-256499.html