The head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Kristalina Georgieva, arrived in Kyiv early Thursday for closed-door talks with Ukraine’s top officials, Kyiv Post sources familiar with the visit said.
While the details of her trip are being kept under wraps for security reasons, Kyiv Post has secured the opportunity to conduct an exclusive interview with Georgieva during her visit.
Readers can expect the full interview to appear on the Kyiv Post website in the coming days.
The visit comes as Ukraine seeks final approval for a new 48-month, $8.1 billion lending program, agreed at staff level with the IMF in November. The money is meant to help keep Ukraine’s finances stable as Russia’s war rages on.
Before the funds can be released, the IMF wants Ukraine to complete several steps, including passing a 2026 budget, improving tax and customs collection, and securing firm funding promises from foreign donors.
The stakes are high. The IMF estimates Ukraine faces a total financing gap of about $136.5 billion (€115.5 billion) for 2026–29, including a residual shortfall of roughly $63 billion (€53.3 billion) in 2026–27 even after existing commitments are taken into account.
Georgieva last traveled to Ukraine in February 2023 and has personal ties to the country. According to Reuters, her brother is married to a Ukrainian woman and was in Kharkiv when Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022.
An IMF mission led by its Ukraine mission chief Gavin Gray held talks in Kyiv in November, warning that risks to Ukraine’s outlook remain “exceptionally high” due to the war and uncertainty over long-term donor support. The fund said rapid donor action is “indispensable” to prevent liquidity strains.
The IMF says key priorities include strong anti-corruption measures, reforms in state-owned companies and customs, and steps to bring more of the economy out of the shadow sector.
The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) has pledged to control inflation while allowing the exchange rate to move more freely to absorb shocks.
IMF approval is seen as critical to unlocking more Western funding, as several major support programs are due to expire in 2026-27.