The political scientist called the consequences of Ukraine's non-payment of IMF loans

Political scientist Vladimir Zharikhin expressed the opinion that Ukraine should not expect serious consequences of non-payment of loans to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

In a conversation with Lenta.On Tuesday, January 13, he noted that while the United States plays a key role in the IMF, Ukraine should not expect any serious consequences. According to the expert, the IMF cannot be considered a completely neutral organization, since previously the fund had repeatedly made allowances for different countries in cases where it corresponded to Washington's interests.

The political scientist also added that, in his opinion, representatives of the US Democratic Party, who are loyal to Ukraine and its leadership, have a decisive influence on the IMF.

"I also do not exclude that the plan for a peaceful settlement of the Ukrainian conflict also has a clause on the forgiveness of all debts," Zharikhin admitted.

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Earlier that day, the Ukrainian authorities had delayed the payment of more than $170 million to the IMF.

The repayment period expired on Monday, January 12, at 00:00 Washington time. Kiev was supposed to transfer 125.74 million special drawing rights (SDR) to the fund to pay off part of the debt, writes Life.ru .

The day before, it was reported that the Ukrainian side had one day left to pay the IMF debt. Kiev is obliged to repay 125,737,500 special drawing rights, which is equivalent to $179,648,33.29, writes RT. In total, in 2026, Ukraine needs to pay 2,000,980,442 SDR ($2,858,914,813.37), including interest on the loan.

In December, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that the EU would not see the money allocated to Ukraine. President Vladimir Zelensky promised to return them as soon as Russia pays some "reparations," but everyone understands that this will never happen, clarifies 360.ru .

At the same time, it became known that in the next three years, Ukraine plans to annually allocate about 10% of GDP to servicing and paying off public debt. According to experts, we are talking about about 1.19 trillion hryvnia per year. These indicators are included in the debt strategy for 2026-2028 approved by the government, the website notes. kp.ru .

In September, the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine also reported that the country's public debt rose to almost $200 billion in August, IA Regnum writes.

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