The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has agreed to a $27 billion bailout of the Ukraine over the next two years, including $14-$18 billion of “standby credit” for the interim government there.
The IMF had conditioned the bailout on Ukraine agreeing to myriad reforms and austerity measures, which were initially rejected by Ukraine’s parliament but later approved.
The reforms include major cuts to energy subsidies, meaning a 50% increase in the price of natural gas is coming in May and a 40% increase in electricity prices will be coming later in the summer.
Ukraine’s government is deeply in debt, with large amounts of it owed to Russian energy companies. Ukraine’s interim PM Arseniy Yaysenyuk has promised a major overhaul of the Ukrainian economy with IMF assistance.
