Reparations Loan should become one of the main tools to meet Ukraine’s financial needs starting from 2026 – Sergii Marchenko at the G7 Meeting

On October 15, the Minister of Finance of Ukraine Sergii Marchenko spoke at a meeting of the G7 financial bloc during his working visit to Washington, D.C., USA.

The event was attended by Prime Minister of Ukraine Yulia Svyrydenko, finance ministers and central bank governors of the G7 member countries, as well as the leadership of the IMF, World Bank, and European Commission.

In his address, Sergii Marchenko outlined Ukraine’s key economic challenges, the government’s financial priorities, and the ways to ensure budget sustainability in 2026.

He emphasized that despite the unprecedented pressure of the war, Ukraine’s financial system remains resilient:

“Internal budget revenues are increasing. In 2025, budget expenditure coverage through internal revenues rose by 11% compared to 2024. Tax revenues show positive dynamics and are expected to reach around 37.2% of GDP in 2026,” noted Sergii Marchenko.

Given the ongoing full-scale russian aggression, the 2026 budget is being formed under the assumption that the war will continue. The largest share of expenditures - over USD 60 billion - is allocated to the defense and security sector, which equals 27.2% of Ukraine’s GDP.

The Minister of Finance also outlined the uncovered external financing needs for 2026–2027, totaling around USD 60 billion.

The main reason for the significant need for international support is the continuation of active hostilities. Additional pressure on the financial system comes from recent russian attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.

Sergii Marchenko called for the use of russia’s frozen assets to support Ukraine starting from early 2026. He expressed gratitude to the European Commission for proposing a new financial instrument to support Ukraine - the Reparations Loan. This mechanism, which envisions using frozen russian assets, should become one of the key tools for meeting Ukraine’s financial needs in 2026–2027. It is important that this instrument be unconditional for Ukraine and flexible in determining the allocation of funds.

Participants of the meeting expressed their readiness to work together to find solutions to support Ukraine. The partners also highly praised the Ministry of Finance’s efforts to maintain macro-financial stability and implement reforms.