Ukraine has enough money to last until May, officials say

BRUSSELS — Ukraine’s war chest is less depleted than policymakers had feared and the country can sustain itself until early May, four people familiar with Kyiv’s finances told POLITICO.

The fear had been that the Ukrainian authorities, who face a budget shortfall of at least $50 billion this year, would start running out of money at the end of March.

That’s no longer the case after the International Monetary Fund approved an $8.1 billion loan to the war-torn country last month, disbursing $1.5 billion immediately.

EU leaders agreed on a €90 billion lifeline to Ukraine in mid-December to help finance its defense against Russian forces. But Hungary recently blocked the initiative, accusing Ukraine of slow-walking repairs to the damaged Druzhba pipeline on political grounds to influence key elections that could oust incumbent Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.

Kyiv has rejected the claims, saying the pipeline is too damaged to carry vital supplies of Russian oil to Hungary following a drone attack in late January. EU officials are scrambling to break the political deadlock ahead of the EU leaders’ summit next week.

The extra cash cushion, however, gives the EU more time to overcome Hungary’s veto threats — such as after the Hungarian election next month.

Separately, Dutch Finance Minister Eelco Heinen told his peers on Tuesday that his government has made provisions to send Kyiv €3.5 billion a year in bilateral support until 2029, two other diplomats told POLITICO.