Ukraine has reached a staff-level agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on the first review of its four-year $8.1 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) loan program. The agreement leads the way to roughly $690 million in fresh financing, despite the Fund warning that the country’s reform drive has slowed. The disbursement opens the door to broader international financing for Ukraine, helping ensure the country remains committed to reforms.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. The IMF greenlit the financing arrangement despite two structural benchmarks for the first quarter being implemented with delays, and a VAT benchmark being missed. Ukraine’s government intends to renegotiate the timeline for implementing VAT for Private Entrepreneurs (referred to as FOPs in Ukraine). Subject to approval by the IMF Executive Board, the agreement was announced on June 12, following a virtual and in-person session led by mission chief Gavin Gray. The Fund also projects a slower than previously forecast real GDP growth rate of between1.0 and 1.6 percent in 2026. The main factor is the impact of Russia’s ongoing war and the effects of the conflict in the Middle East, according to the IMF press release. Kyiv Post previously reported that the Fund had projected 2% GDP growth for Ukraine in 2026. The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) – Ukraine’s central bank – slashed Ukraine’s real GDP forecast from 1.8% to 1.3% for 2026.