Sergii Marchenko met with representatives of the U.S. Government and White House to discuss the needs of the State Budget in 2024 and the use of russian assets

On April 15, during the working visit to the IMF and World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington, D.C., Minister of Finance of Ukraine Sergii Marchenko held a series of meetings with representatives of the U.S. Government and White House. 

The meetings were attended by Deputy Minister of Finance Olga Zykova, Deputy Minister of Finance for European Integration Yuriy Draganchuk and Government Commissioner for Public Debt Management Yuriy Butsa.

• Meeting with U.S. Under Secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs Jay Shambaugh. 

The agenda included covering the needs of the State Budget of Ukraine in 2024. 

Sergii Marchenko thanked the Government and citizens of the United States for the direct budget support provided to Ukraine since the beginning of the full-scale invasion. 

"Since February 24, 2022, the total amount of budgetary assistance from the United States has reached about USD 23 billion. The funds raised have made a significant contribution to the stability of our country's financial system. Currently, the priority is to provide the Armed Forces with the necessary resources to successfully counter the aggressor, while providing its citizens with priority social and humanitarian services. Preserving U.S. assistance is critical. We hope that the U.S. Congress will take the appropriate decisions to approve the aid package for Ukraine for 2024 as soon as possible," the Minister of Finance added. 

• Meeting with Deputy National Security Advisor for International Economics Daleep Singh

The parties discussed meeting the budgetary needs for the current year. 

Sergii Marchenko noted that about half of the expenditures in 2024 will be allocated to the security and defense sector. 

"Given the growing need to finance defense, which is financed only by domestic resources, attracting external financing for social and humanitarian budget expenditures is crucial. The need for 2024 is USD 37.2 billion, of which USD 10.2 billion has already been raised." 

They also discussed the measures taken by the Government of Ukraine to mobilize an additional USD 5.4 billion in the first quarter of 2024 and the activation of the domestic debt market. This year, the issuance of domestic government bonds helped to attract USD 3.5 billion to the State Budget. 

Sergii Marchenko thanked Daleep Singh for his personal contribution to strengthening the U.S. sanctions pressure on russia. These efforts have helped to partially limit the revenues of the russian federation, which are used for the military campaign against Ukraine. 

The parties emphasized that russia must pay for its crimes and that one way to do so is to use the confiscated assets for the benefit of Ukraine, in particular for the priority social and military needs and further recovery. The possibility of directing the proceeds from the sale of confiscated assets to the needs of Ukraine was mentioned as a potential mechanism.

Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the partner countries have frozen the russian sovereign assets worth about USD 280 billion.

• Meeting with U.S. Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy and the Environment Jose W. Fernandez. 

The key topics for discussion were Ukraine's rapid recovery needs, primarily in the energy sector and critical infrastructure.   

"Amid ongoing missile attacks, the assistance of our partners is crucial for the stable operation of the energy sector and key areas of social services. In addition to ensuring the airdefence, it is necessary to timely overcome the existing consequences of russian terror by restoring critical facilities in a timely manner. The Government of Ukraine is actively working with donors to attract the necessary assistance for the implementation of reconstruction and recovery projects," said Sergii Marchenko. 

The Minister of Finance also emphasized the importance of strengthening restrictive measures and sanctions against russia.. The lack of restrictive measures against russia threatens not only Ukraine, but also contributes to the gradual destruction of the international system based on established rules.