The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is providing a new billion-euro financing package to Ukraine, which is being attacked by Russia. The loan program, approved by the Executive Committee on Friday, is expected to give the country access to $15.6 billion, according to the Washington-based International Monetary Fund. The program is part of an international aid package totaling 115 billion US dollars (around 106 billion euros).

The loan program has a term of four years. The decision of the executive board enables the immediate payment of around 2.7 billion US dollars (around 2.5 billion euros), it said. As a first step, the focus is now on a solid budget and the mobilization of revenues. According to the IMF, "ambitious structural reforms" will then be tackled in Ukraine.

"Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues to have devastating economic and social repercussions," the IMF said. Nonetheless, the authorities managed to maintain overall financial stability thanks to clever policies and significant external support. The program should enshrine "policies that maintain fiscal, external, price and financial stability" and support economic recovery, according to the IMF. At the same time, governance should be improved to enable long-term growth after the end of the war.

Almost two weeks ago, Kiev agreed on the loan program with the international lenders. However, the technical level agreement (a so-called Staff Level Agreement) still had to be approved by the Executive Board. Ukraine had tried to get the billion-dollar aid program - months of negotiations had preceded it. The IMF recently changed its rules to allow lending programs for countries facing "extraordinarily high levels of uncertainty". This is the first IMF loan to a country at war.