Page 57 - UKRRptFeb24

This year, Ukraine will cover the budget deficit mainly with the help of its international partners, but in the following years, the budget deficit of $10-15bn needed to rebuild the country could be covered by revenues from frozen assets of the Russian Federation,according to Rostyslav Shurma, Deputy Head of the President’s Office, at a discussion at Ukraine House in Davos on January 18.
Ukraine will need $10-$15B aid annually after the war, said Deputy Head of the Office of the President Rostyslav Shurma at the Ukrainian House in Davos. However, according to Shurma, this need can be satisfied if Ukraine receives frozen Russian assets currently held abroad. He clarified that it is much easier to legally regulate these funds' provision to Ukraine than to confiscate other Russian assets.
According to the Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine can restore all its infrastructure that has been damaged by the Russians, with the assets currently held in just three EU countries. Kuleba disagrees with arguments about legal restrictions that allegedly prevent using Kremlin assets. He said that the frozen assets of the aggressor in the UK, Luxembourg, and Switzerland alone are sufficient to repair all of Ukraine’s damaged infrastructure, including airports, bridges, and roads. Also, the €180B in Russian assets held in the Euroclear Belgium (CSD) would be enough to restore hospitals and schools.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba was asked in an interview with CNN if Kyiv had other options in the event that American largesse does not arrive on time and said no. He his country could only rely on US and allied support. “We don't have a plan B. We are confident in plan A. Ukraine will always fight with the resources given to it. And...what is given to Ukraine is not charity. It's an investment in the protection of Nato and in the protection of the prosperity of the American people,” he said, citing recent remarks by Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg.
Ukraine foreign financing gap
Month-Year
Jan 2022
Feb 2022 (full-scale invasion)
July 2022
Jan 2023
July 2023 November 2023
Budget Deficit & Debt Repayment Needs (inbn $)
0.1 1.8
4.1 3.3 5 4.9
Foreign Financing (inbn $)
n/a 0.2
2.7 4.2 5.3 2.1
The IMF is assessing the impact of the confiscation of Russian assets on the international financial system, and Russia is preparing its case for
57 UKRAINE Country Report February 2024 www.intellinews.com