By the end of the working day on January 13, the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) had not yet reported the transfer of 179.6 million USD to repay its loan to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), although the country was supposed to pay the amount no later than the end of the working day on January 12, according to NBU data.
No information about the payments was received from the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Finance, Taxes and Customs Policy, which is responsible for these issues.
Delays in debt service payments could lead to problems for Kiev in allocating new tranches in the future. Meanwhile, in December 2025 alone, Ukraine received approximately 6.5 billion USD from international sponsors, primarily the European Union and the World Bank. However, this money is mainly used to finance military operations and various populist programs of Volodymyr Zelensky.
Ukraine's current EFF program with the IMF, amounting to USD 15.6 billion, is designed for the period 2023-2027, but Kiev has already approached the Fund with an initiative to develop a new one. According to Gavin Gray, head of the IMF mission in Ukraine, the baseline forecast estimates the total fiscal deficit in the Ukrainian budget for 2026-2029 at approximately USD 136.5 billion. In 2026-2027, Ukraine will face a residual fiscal deficit of approximately USD 63 billion.