“It would be a disaster”: Hetmantsev explained what would happen to Ukraine if it failed to meet its obligations to the IMF

The IMF took an unprecedented stance when they themselves extended the deadlines for the obligations we had undertaken in the memorandum, thereby making it clear that this was possible. And that is how the Verkhovna Rada perceived it, and that is how society perceived it—that we simply need to stand our ground, apply pressure, and they will postpone the deadlines on their own

And the funds from the World Bank, the European Commission, and even the governments of foreign countries are tied to this program; when they provide us with certain loans—and even grants— they are still tied to the IMF program, because the IMF program serves as an indicator that this borrower is stable and will repay the money. The Western world’s system is highly bureaucratic; when making decisions about granting loans, it bases those decisions on the IMF program. Therefore, if we derail the IMF program, we’ll also lose access to other funds that we need. And if we don’t receive funds from our creditors today, well, I don’t even want to tell you on the air what will happen. It will be a disaster