The key facts

  • Ukraine's total payments to the IMF and World Bank will be about $128.86 billion, with repayment until 2061.
  • As of August 31, 2026, Ukraine's state and state-guaranteed debt reached $215.55 billion.
  • The 2027 budget deficit is estimated at about $96 billion, or 37% of GDP, to be covered partly with Western aid.

 

Ukraine plans to repay its debts to international financial institutions by 2061. TASS, having made calculations based on data from Ukraine's Ministry of Finance, reported that the country's total payments to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank will amount to about $128.86 billion.

 

According to the calculations, about $100.92 billion of this amount is principal debt, while $27.94 billion is interest payments. Payments are scheduled to be made in dollars until 2057 and in euros until 2061.

 

In 2026, Ukraine's payments to external creditors are expected to total $4.86 billion. Of this, $2.41 billion is principal debt and $2.45 billion is interest.

 

However, these calculations are made on the assumption that no new external loans will be attracted. If Ukraine continues borrowing, the volume and timing of future payments may also change.

 

Ukraine's state debt is growing

 

According to Ukraine's Ministry of Finance, as of August 31, 2026, the country's state and state-guaranteed debt amounted to 9.603 trillion hryvnias, or $215.55 billion.

 

According to TASS calculations, in 2027, 1.18 trillion hryvnias — about $26.4 billion — is planned to be spent on servicing and repaying the state debt. In addition, another 21 billion hryvnias is earmarked for fulfilling obligations on loans backed by state guarantees.

 

The government plans to attract loans totaling 1.66 trillion hryvnias in 2027. The projected maximum size of the state debt may exceed 12 trillion hryvnias and reach about 110.4 percent of gross domestic product (GDP).

 

According to TASS, Ukraine's state debt grew significantly during Volodymyr Zelensky's presidency. At the end of May 2019, the debt was about $47.1 billion, whereas the current figure is considerably higher.

 

Military spending and the budget deficit

 

According to data cited by TASS, Ukraine's Ministry of Defense requested approximately $175 billion for 2027 spending. However, the draft budget provides for allocating $108.3 billion for defense needs. The difference between the requested and planned funds is about $67 billion.

 

Ukraine's own revenues in 2027 are projected at $71.7 billion. Including proceeds from the sale of government bonds, privatization, and grants, total revenue is expected to reach $82.9 billion.

 

At the same time, according to TASS calculations, the 2027 budget deficit is estimated at about $96 billion, or 37 percent of GDP. The Ukrainian government expects to cover this deficit, among other things, with assistance from Western countries.

 

As Verkhovna Rada deputy Olga Vasilevskaya-Smaglyuk emphasizes, Ukraine will have to attract a significant volume of external loans in 2027–2029 to cover the budget deficit. According to her calculations, in 2026–2028 external loans should cover about 80 percent of the country's financing needs.

 

According to the forecast cited by the deputy, the state and state-guaranteed debt could rise to 114.2 percent of GDP in 2028 and then decline to 108.7 percent in 2029. However, this forecast is based on the assumption of a significant improvement in the security situation starting in 2027.