How Ukraine is losing funds due to stalled reforms and where it needs to speed up

Ukraine is not receiving funds on time because of the slow work of the government and parliament.

"No reforms – no money": this is something that still is not clearly understood by everyone in Ukraine’s halls of power.

These reforms are needed by Ukraine itself not only to obtain funding, but also to strengthen macroeconomic stability and to create the foundation for economic recovery and growth.

Read more about specific commitments and the stalled progress in the article by Oleksandra Betlii of the Institute for Economic Research and Policy Consulting: The price of unimplemented reforms: what financial assistance Ukraine risks not receiving.

Ukraine has received financial assistance from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for years, provided on the basis of agreements between the IMF and Ukraine. Aid tranches are disbursed based on the fulfillment of structural benchmarks set out in the Memorandum – reforms and changes intended to strengthen Ukraine.

Structural benchmarks, as well as other commitments, are laid out in the part of the Memorandum tellingly titled the "Letter of Intent," where Ukraine’s stated intention and willingness to implement change.

There were as many as eight (!) reviews under the current programme (which in fact is no longer in effect). This was explained both by the fact that "we desperately needed the money" and by the IMF becoming more flexible and postponing the implementation of many structural benchmarks that Ukraine failed to complete on time.

However, as the programme no longer matched current needs, discussions about a new programme began in the autumn of 2025, and a staff-level agreement was reached in late November 2025.

The key point: the decision on the programme must be taken by the IMF Executive Board, but only after Ukraine fulfils prior actions. This time, these include, in particular, submitting a bill on VAT for simplified taxpayers, adopting a bill on the taxation of digital platforms and abolishing tax exemptions on parcels (more details are available in the RRR4U Monitoring).

Ukraine’s authorities agreed to these conditions, but are now stumbling over their implementation, resulting in delays to the new programme.

At the same time, monitoring shows that Ukraine is failing to meet existing structural benchmarks as well (which is important, since they will not disappear but will be carried over into the new programme).

In addition, the new IMF program is crucial for assistance from other donors. Specifically, it serves as an anchor for international aid totalling around $115 billion.

A large share of this assistance comes from the EU, where Ukraine is also facing certain issues.

Another important document defining Ukraine’s commitments since 2024 is the Ukraine Plan, adopted by the Cabinet of Ministers.

This again includes numerous reforms, changes and policies that Ukraine itself needs for resilience and development.

The reforms and changes set out in the Ukraine Plan have become the indicators for the EU support mechanism known as the Ukraine Facility. Under this mechanism, Ukraine receives funds quarterly, but only upon fulfillment of the indicators. And this is where problems begin.

RRR4U (Resilience, Reconstruction and Relief for Ukraine) has regularly recorded delays in meeting various indicators since early 2025.

As of the end of January 2026, the indicators not fulfilled by Ukraine have cost the state nearly €3.9 billion.

Thus, since the first quarter of 2025, there has been a "tail" of unfinished commitments, specifically, increasing the number of judges of the High Anti-Corruption Court.

Several indicators for the first quarter of 2026 are also unlikely to be fulfilled on time.

As a result, due to a lack of political will and coordination, the government and parliament are failing to meet their commitments on time, leading to delays in receiving funds.

Most EU member states are closely monitoring Ukraine’s implementation of the reform plan. A lack of progress signals (especially to countries sceptical of Ukraine’s accession) that Ukraine cannot be trusted.

So it is time to get to work, rather than invent explanations for why something was not done on time, like schoolchildren making excuses for bad grades.