(Bloomberg) --
The International Monetary Fund called on nations to provide grants and donations to fill a $5 billion monthly financing need for Ukraine after Russia's invasion, while signaling that more of the institution's own lending will need to wait for when there is more stability.
“It is in our view -- a program that we can start structuring for the future,” IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva told reporters on Wednesday. “It is unfair to expect Ukrainian authorities to develop and implement a far-ranging package of reforms at this time.”
“They are focusing on what matters most at this moment, which is keeping the economy functioning, and doing a really good job at that,” she said.
Read more: IMF Sees Deep Ukraine Recession, Working on Trust to Boost Funds
The IMF approved a $1.4 billion emergency loan for Ukraine to bolster the nation's economy last month. The nation canceled an existing loan that had $2.2 billion left to disburse but was subject to implementing economic reforms, such as strengthening central bank independence and tackling corruption.
The emergency loan represented the most that the fund can approve with few conditions for Ukraine for 12 months, based on the nation's share in the IMF. While the institution already is discussing a larger follow-up program, it will need to wait for fighting to subside, because it would be wrong to ask the government to implement the economic changes needed to unlock that type of loan in the middle of the war, Georgieva said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen that his government needs $5 billion to $7 billion per month to cover salaries and other social expenditures.
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