"I have great hope that an agreement for a ceasefire in Ukraine will be reached this weekend," German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on May 9, shortly before traveling to Kyiv alongside the leaders of France, Poland, and the U.K.
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk will arrive in Kyiv early on May 10.
The United States embassy in Kyiv on May 9 issued a warning that Russia could launch "a potentially significant" attack in the coming days, despite Putin's self-declared Victory Day "truce."
The sanctioned oil tankers have transported over $24 billion in cargo since 2024, according to Downing Street. The U.K. has now sanctioned more shadow fleet vessels than any other country.
Washington and its partners are considering additional sanctions if the parties do not observe a ceasefire, with political and technical negotiations between Europe and the U.S. intensifying since last week, Reuters' source said.
The Kyiv Independent’s contributor Ignatius Ivlev-Yorke spent a day with a mobile team from the State Emergency Service in Nikopol in the south of Ukraine as they responded to relentless drone, artillery, and mortar strikes from Russian forces just across the Dnipro River. Nikopol is located across from the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in the city of Enerhodar.
Illustrative image: IMF European Department Deputy Director Uma Ramakrishnan, Head of the IMF Mission to Ukraine Gavin Gray, and Deputy Head of the IMF Mission to Ukraine Nathan Epstein (L to R) at a press conference in Kyiv, Oct. 4 2023. (Ruslan Kaniuka / Ukrinform/Future Publishing via Getty Images)
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved the disbursement of $2.2 billion in funding through the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) to assist Ukraine with budgetary support, the IMF announced on June 28.
The funding comes as the IMF's Executive Board completed the fourth review of the EFF Arrangement. Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal announced that the IMF began review of the agreement on May 31.
"Ukraine’s performance remains strong under the EFF despite challenging conditions," a news release from the IMF read. "All quantitative performance criteria for end-March were met, and all structural benchmarks through end-June were implemented on time or with a short delay."
The EFF funds are meant to lend Ukraine stability amid the disruptions of war, support the country's postwar recovery, and promote economic growth as Ukraine moves forward on the path to EU membership.
In a statement, Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the IMF, said that "Ukraine’s performance and commitment under the program continues to be strong," adding that the country's "economy remains resilient, reflecting the continued adaptability of households and firms."
Despite the progress with Ukraine's commitments under the EFF, the country's prospects for economic recovery will likely continue to slump into 2025.
"Looking ahead, the recovery is expected to slow particularly given the attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, and the outlook is subject to high risks from the exceptionally high war-related uncertainty," Georgieva said. "Vigilance against these risks is necessary to enable timely responses if shocks materialize."
The EFF has thus far provided Ukraine with $7.6 billion in budgetary assistance since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion.
The total EFF amount for 2023-2027 is $15.6 billion, part of a larger international support package for Ukraine.
Foreign aid is crucial for Ukraine as the economic pressure caused by the full-scale Russian invasion mounts. The besieged country received $42.5 billion in external financing last year, allowing it to function amid the ongoing war.
Dmytro Basmat is a senior news editor for The Kyiv Independent. He previously worked in Canadian politics as a communications lead and spokesperson for a national political party, and as a communications assistant for a Canadian Member of Parliament. Basmat has a Master's degree in Political Management from Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada, and a Bachelor of Arts in Politics and Governance from Toronto Metropolitan University.
Nate Ostiller
