What happened? Oleg Ustenko, the Presidential Economic Adviser, estimated Ukraine's budget deficit to be about $8 billion a month, while Finance Minister Sergii Marchenko had previously predicted it to be about $5-7 billion a month as of April-May.
The source. He said this in a comment to “The New Yorker”.
The comment. “The contraction in our economy is huge. Fifty per cent of our businesses are not fully operational. Our budget revenues have fallen substantially, and our budget deficit has increased. This deficit has to be financed,” he stated.
According to him, in the current conditions it would be inexpedient for Ukraine to borrow on international financial markets to cover this deficit, but if the G-7 countries provide Ukraine with $50 billion of new funding, it will solve the deficit problem for at least another six months.
“We need extra financial support, including from the United States. Of course, the U.S. was very kind, providing us with weapons. But it is not enough,” emphasized the Adviser of the Ukrainian head of state.
He also called on the United States and other G-7 members to provide greater financial support to the Ukrainian government, which has to finance war defenses and continues to provide social benefits and support to the Ukrainians.
Earlier, the head of the Ministry of Finance Sergii Marchenko in an interview for the “Financial Times” estimated the growth of the state budget deficit from $2.7 billion in March to $5-7 billion in April and May. According to him, Ukraine's infrastructure losses due to the war increased to $270 billion, while at the end of March this figure was $120 billion.