Support from international donors, commercial debt restructuring and tax hikes should be considered as a single package to eliminate Ukraine’s financing gap, according to Gavin Gray, head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission in Ukraine.

"Progress in adopting the tax package will influence donors’ willingness to continue support Ukraine," he said in a discussion on the state budget deficit organized by the Centre for Economic Strategy (CES).

Gray emphasized that all three of these elements of the single package are aimed at achieving the result – effectively eliminating the financing gap.

"One shouldn't think of these being independent elements, they are interrelated," the head of the mission believes.

According to Gray, the readiness of Ukraine's international partners to continue supporting the government's announced tax package will be higher, since this will be evidence of the state's efforts to gain greater self-sufficiency and independence from external assistance, given the significant expenses in the medium term.

As reported, in July the government submitted to the Rada a bill to increase the 2024 state budget expenditures by UAH 434.6 billion, which will be provided by UAH 214.5 billion in additional revenues and UAH 220.1 billion in additional financing: UAH 160.2 billion in increased sales of government bonds to banks and UAH 59.8 billion in reduced payments to repay the public debt.