By Lacity
The head of the parliamentary finance committee, Danilo Hetmantsev, stated that if Ukraine does not receive the promised $11.2 billion in budget support from the United States (part of a package totaling over $60 billion), it will lead to difficult and unpopular decisions by the Ukrainian government.
According to him, there are only two mechanisms to address such a problem. The first is the issuance of hryvnia, which will result in inflation and devaluation of the national currency. The second is budget sequestration, which involves cutting expenditures in the budget.
He added that there is not much potential in the Ukrainian economy to significantly increase taxes, but inflation is also a kind of tax that affects the poor the most. However, at present, these options are not being considered, and he believes that partners will find a fair solution.
Hetmantsev also noted that Ukraine has sufficient revenues for the first half of the year, even with the delay in aid from the United States. However, the government heavily relies on this assistance, as going through the whole year without it will be a challenging task.
