Ukraine's 2027 budget deficit may exceed forecast, requiring additional EU aid

NEW YORK, August 28. /TASS/. Ukraine's budget deficit in 2027 could be larger than forecast, requiring additional aid from the European Union as a result, Bloomberg wrote, citing sources.

Talks between Kiev and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have faced headwinds due to "politically sensitive demands" from the country’s second-largest lender, sources said.

In July, the IMF projected that Ukraine’s deficit would total 17.8% of GDP in 2027 - 3.3 percentage points lower than in 2025. However, this forecast presumes that the Ukraine conflict will end in 2026, the agency noted. "As the war drags on, the figure is expected to be revised upward," Bloomberg said, citing one of its sources.

It's still unclear just how big Ukraine's budget deficit will be, while finding the money to keep the country is an equally murky prospect, he said. Moreover, the impact on the IMF program remains a mystery. Last week Kiev started a new round of negotiations with the IMF to release a new aid tranche. Should those fall through, Kiev could lose $5 bln worth of international aid this year alone.

The Financial Times reported on Thursday, citing sources, that a number of European countries feared that the financial aid provided by the EU would be insufficient for Kiev, leading many to speculate that they would once again try to seize Russia’s frozen assets. Among EU members supporting the initiative are Sweden, the Netherlands, Spain, and Poland.