The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) raised its estimate of international reserves at the end of 2026 to $69.7 billion from $64.8 billion, and for 2027 to $73.7 billion from $66.5 billion.
“The transfer of a portion of the foreign currency received into international reserves will lead to their growth to nearly $70 billion by the end of the year. This forecast takes into account increased demand for imports of components for arms production and, accordingly, an expansion in structural demand for foreign currency, which will require the NBU to step up its interventions to meet the economy’s needs while maintaining the stability of the foreign exchange market. “In other words, the NBU’s intermediary role in the foreign exchange market will strengthen,” the National Bank noted in a press release on Thursday.
As previously reported, $11.3 billion was deposited into the government’s foreign exchange accounts at the National Bank in June, including $6.8 billion from the EU and nearly $4.5 billion through World Bank accounts. In addition, Ukraine received $4.4 billion from the European Union as part of the first disbursement of the first defense tranche under the Ukraine Support Loan program; however, these funds were not credited to the country’s international reserves due to their restricted (earmarked) use. In July, Ukraine received another tranche of EUR 3.47 billion from the EU under the Ukraine Support Loan program and a second tranche of approximately $690 million from the IMF. The NBU expects that the total amount of direct budgetary support from partners in 2026 could reach about $54 billion, which will be sufficient to cover the budget deficit.
