Sergii Marchenko for The Wall Street Journal: The support of international partners accelerates Ukraine's victory

Without the financial support of international partners, Russia's war against Ukraine will be longer and cause more economic damage. The Minister of Finance of Ukraine, Sergii Marchenko, said this in an interview with the Wall Street Journal.

"The support we receive gives us the opportunity to win the war as soon as possible. However, we urge the Governments of friendly countries and international organizations to speed up the provision of the promised aid, so that Ukraine can keep financing all priority expenses in a timely manner”, said Sergii Marchenko. Grants and loans from partners will also allow to direct more of the budget funds for the military needs.

According to the Minister of Finance, the main challenge facing the country's financial system is a significant increase in defense spending and, at the same time, a significant decrease in tax revenues due to the war. One of the tools for balancing the budget is attracting additional funding.

"We are currently negotiating with the IMF regarding a new loan program that could help balance the financial system and ensure sufficient financing of the budget in 2023”, Sergii Marchenko said. He added that this is a difficult process, since the war makes it difficult to forecast Ukraine's needs. Much depends on how the situation at the front will develop in the future.

The Minister of Finance also noted that today the Government is planning expenditures taking into account a possible long-term war. The priorities of the state budget for 2023 will be financing the army, supporting the population and maintaining macro-financial stability.