May 7, 2014 - 15:02 AMT
Ukraine gets first loan tranche from IMF: central bank

Ukraine has received the first loan tranche from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the country’s central bank said Wednesday, May 7, according to RIA Novosti.

“We can confirm that we have received the money,” the Ukrainian National Bank’s press office said, while refusing to comment on the amount of the payment.

Earlier reports said the IMF would pay $3.2 billion as the initial installment of the two-year aid program worth $17 billion total.

The Cabinet’s press office cited acting Prime Minister Arseny Yatsenyuk as saying that international creditors had pledged aid to Ukraine worth some $5 billion. A portion of these funds will go to the central bank's foreign currency reserves, and the rest to the state budget to stabilize Ukraine’s macroeconomic situation, he said.