During the second quarter of 2024, the total amount of Ukraine’s public and publicly guaranteed debt increased by $1.1 billion. This was reported by Komersant ukrainskyi
with reference to the The Ministry of Finance of Ukraine.
The relevant ministry explained that as of 30 June 2024, Ukraine’s state and state-guaranteed debt amounted to UAH 6168 billion, or $152.2 billion, including public and publicly guaranteed external debt – UAH 4456.4 billion (72.3% of the total public and publicly guaranteed debt), or $109.9 billion.
The reason for the increase in public debt is an increase in long-term concessional financing from international partners.
It should be noted that the amount of public and publicly guaranteed debt is calculated in monetary terms as the outstanding nominal value of debt obligations in the currency of the loan (credit). The status of public and publicly guaranteed debt is determined in hryvnias and US dollars at the exchange rate of the National Bank of Ukraine as of the last day of the reporting period and includes transactions for that day.
Earlier, we wrote that Ukraine will not pay its external debt for two months. The draft law No. 11396 “On Amendments to Section VI “Final and Transitional Provisions” of the Budget Code of Ukraine” concerns the restructuring of the public debt. It contains two key provisions.
The first provision allows the government to include the state-guaranteed debt of the former Ukravtodor in the amount of public debt and restructure it. This refers to the 2021 Eurobonds worth $700 million plus interest.
The second provision gives the government the right to temporarily suspend payments on external public debt if necessary, but only until 1 October 2024. This could happen if no formal agreement on restructuring is reached by 10 August.