An International Monetary Fund mission is holding talks starting Monday with Ukrainian officials as the fund weighs a multiyear aid package worth as much as $16 billion to provide a catalyst for more financial aid.
(Bloomberg) — An International Monetary Fund mission is holding talks starting Monday with Ukrainian officials as the fund weighs a multiyear aid package worth as much as $16 billion to provide a catalyst for more financial aid.
The government in Kyiv is seeking a full loan package from the Washington-based lender after securing a deal in December for a provisional four-month monitoring program known as a PMB that, if successfully completed, will pave the way for the assistance.
NATO defense ministers are due to meet Tuesday in Brussels to discuss military support for Ukraine ahead of an expected intensification of fighting. Russia on Friday launched its biggest barrage of missile attacks so far this year as President Volodymyr Zelenskiy seeks more weapons to fend off the invasion.
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Key Developments
- For Fear or Money, Consumer Giants Are Staying in Russia
- European Gas Is Stuck in Storage After Prices Plunged From Peak
- Oil Declines as Shift Away From Risk Drowns Out Russian Cutback
- Wheat Highest in More Than Two Months on Black Sea Supply Worry
- Ukraine Credit Rating Cut by Moody’s on ‘Likely’ Restructuring
On The Ground
Russian troops continued to mount attacks mostly in eastern areas around Kupyansk, Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiyivka and Novopavlivka despite huge losses, according to Ukraine’s General Staff. Ukrainian troops repelled attacks near 11 settlements in the Kharkiv, Donetsk, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia regions, it said in a statement on Facebook. Russia remains concerned about guarding the extremities of its extended front line, despite the current operational focus on central Donbas, according to the latest intelligence update from the UK’s defense ministry.
(All times CET)
Ukraine Thanks Denmark for Howitzers (9 a.m.)
Ukraine’s defense ministry thanked Denmark for delivering 19 Caesar howitzers, which it said represented the country’s entire stock of the self-propelled artillery systems.
“A true friend who knows that our fight is Europe’s fight,” the ministry said in a tweet. Denmark’s contribution to Ukraine’s defense has sparked a debate about whether it might excessively deplete its own military and compromise commitments to NATO.
Italy Sees End to Russian Gas Dependence (8:30 a.m.)
Italy can end its dependence on Russian gas by the end of this year, Industry Minister Adolfo Urso said in an interview with newspaper Il Messaggero.
Italy can start supplying other countries next year and soon become a European gas hub, also thanks to a doubling of flows via the Trans Adriatic Pipeline from Azerbaijan, Urso told the paper.
More Work Ahead to Restore Energy Supply: Zelenskiy (8 a.m.)
Zelenskiy praised those working to repair energy infrastructure damaged by Russian attacks, saying that a majority of Ukrainians spent the weekend “without many shutdowns.”
“Of course, with the start of the new week, consumption will increase, and therefore there will be outage schedules,” Zelenskiy said late Sunday in his daily address, warning that Ukraine had yet to achieve “a decisive victory on the energy front.”
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