IMF mission arrives in Kyiv to discuss 2026 outlook

An International Monetary Fund (IMF) team led by Gavin Gray, mission chief for Ukraine, began meetings in Kyiv on Wednesday with Ukrainian authorities and other stakeholders, according to Priscilla Toffano, the IMF Resident Representative in Ukraine.

"The discussions will cover budget plans for 2026, the medium-term fiscal framework, monetary and exchange rate policies, as well as financial sector and other structural policies," Toffano said.

National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) Governor Andriy Pyshnyy said in mid-August that an IMF mission would visit in the coming weeks to discuss the possibility and feasibility of a new program in light of Russia's ongoing war.

"In the coming weeks, the IMF mission will arrive to decide whether a new program is needed or if we prepare for the 9th–10th review [of the current program] in November–December this year. The current program assumes the war will end by 2026," he told reporters.

Pyshnyy stressed that much in this discussion will depend on progress in negotiations toward a potential lasting peace. According to him, the mission must determine the financing gap and ways to close it.

As reported following the 8th review of the IMF's Extended Fund Facility (EFF) in late June, the 9th and 10th reviews – originally scheduled for late August and early December this year – were combined into a single 9th review, now planned for Q4 2025.

Kyiv explained the move as a desire to align IMF financing with Ukraine's balance-of-payments needs, given higher-than-expected inflows in Q3 2025, increased outflows at year-end, and the need for additional time to advance reforms.

As a result, the combined 10th tranche under the IMF program will amount to SDR 1.117 billion (about $1.6 billion at the current exchange rate).

The subsequent review and disbursement schedule until program completion in spring 2027 remains unchanged: the 11th review in early March 2026 (SDR 0.93 billion), and the 12th and 13th reviews in late August 2026 and March 2027 (SDR 0.75 billion and SDR 0.79 billion, respectively).