Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on March 6, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 25, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleUkraine's economic outlook is uncertain amid ongoing war. IMF forecasts slower GDP growth and highlights structural reforms. Impact of halted U.S. aid remains unclear.
By Andrea Shalal
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Ukraine is continuing to make good progress in implementing structural reforms, but its economic outlook remains exceptionally uncertain given its ongoing war against Russia's invasion, the International Monetary Fund said on Thursday.
IMF spokesperson Julie Kozack said the war was taking a heavy toll on Ukraine's people, economy and infrastructure, although the country had shown continued resilience since Russia's 2022 invasion.
The IMF last month forecast Ukraine's gross domestic product growth would ease to between 2% and 3% in 2025 from an estimated 3.5% in 2024, reflecting headwinds from labor constraints, damage to energy infrastructure, and the ongoing war.
She said it was premature to assess the impact of recent U.S. moves to halt aid to Ukraine or an eventual ceasefire on the country's economy, but the IMF was keeping a close eye on those developments. The same was true for Russia, she said.
IMF staff on February 28 reached agreement with Ukrainian authorities on the seventh review of Ukraine's $15.5 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) program, paving the way for the release of $400 million once approved by the IMF's board. That would bring total disbursements under the program to about $10.1 billion.
The disbursement is lower than the roughly $900 million that was initially expected, but reflected an adjustment in Ukraine's balance of payments needs, Kozack said, adding that changes in disbursement levels were not unusual over the life of a program.
(Reporting by Andrea Shalal and Rodrigo Campos, Editing by Franklin Paul and Paul Simao)
The main topic is Ukraine's uncertain economic outlook amid ongoing war, as reported by the IMF.
The IMF forecasts Ukraine's GDP growth to slow to 2-3% in 2025 due to war-related challenges.
IMF approved a $400 million disbursement under Ukraine's $15.5 billion Extended Fund Facility program.
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