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According to individuals acquainted with the arrangements, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and top Ukrainian financial officials will visit Washington next week during the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank.
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According to reports, Shmyhal, Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko, and Central Bank Governor Kyrylo Shevchenko are set to meet bilaterally with finance officials from the Group of Seven countries and others on Thursday, as well as participate in a World Bank roundtable on Ukraine.
The session on Thursday will be the first opportunity for important Ukrainian leaders to meet in person with a slew of finance officials from industrialised economies since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24.
Spillovers from Russia’s war in Ukraine are set to dominate next week’s meetings of senior economic officials from World Bank and IMF member countries, as well as the G7 and G20, with the IMF poised to lower its global growth prediction as a result of the war.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has dispatched troops to Ukraine for a “special military operation” to demilitarise and “denazify” the country.
Kyiv and its Western supporters claim that these are spurious grounds for an unprovoked war of aggression that has displaced a quarter of Ukraine’s 44 million people and killed thousands.
The meeting on Thursday will be more of a roundtable discussion than a donors conference, though the IMF and World Bank have set up separate accounts to process and relay donations, and additional pledges are anticipated to be disclosed next week.
It will provide officials with an opportunity to debate the physical damage and economic implications of the war, as well as the continuous operation of Ukraine’s banking and financial sectors.
“Without support today, there will be no reconstruction in the future,” one of the insiders added.
The World Bank did not immediately respond to the incident.
This week, World Bank President David Malpass announced that the bank was planning a $1.5 billion aid package for Ukraine during a conference in Warsaw.
The IMF’s executive board approved the establishment of a new account last week, providing a secure channel for bilateral donors and international organisations to transmit funds to Ukraine.
Canada, one of Ukraine’s most ardent backers, has suggested disbursing up to $1 billion in Canadian dollars through the new account, which will be managed by the IMF.
The account will allow donors to send grants and loans to the Ukrainian government in order to help it fulfil its balance of payments and budgetary demands, as well as to stabilise its economy as it continues to defend itself against Russia’s lethal assault.
Marchenko announced last week that his government is seeking approximately 4 billion euros ($4.37 billion) in external financing, in addition to the approximately 3 billion euros it has already obtained to address a budget shortfall.
