IMF expects continuing US support for Ukraine despite Congress dropping aid

abcnews.go.com:

The International Monetary Fund says it expects the U.S. to continue playing its key role in amassing multinational support that has helped keep Ukraine’s economy afloat during Russia’s invasion

KYIV, Ukraine — Officials from the International Monetary Fund say they expect the United States will continue playing its key role in amassing multinational support that has helped keep Ukraine's economy afloat during Russia’s invasion.

That's despite Congress recently passing a short-term funding package that averted a U.S. government shutdown but dropped $6 billion in aid to Ukraine. It's not clear if, when or how that aid installment might be restored.

The U.S. has already sent or committed $69.5 billion in military, financial and humanitarian aid to Ukraine, according to the Institute for the World Economy in Kiel, Germany.

“ President Biden has made an announcement… that he is fully committed to supporting Ukraine," Uma Ramakrishnan, IMF European department deputy director, said at a news conference Wednesday in Kyiv. ”And so from our standpoint, the baseline assumption remains that the U.S. remains committed."

She added that “it is premature for us to comment on what will materialize or not, because we have to wait for the process to play out."

Officials from the Washington-based IMF also said Ukraine’s economy was showing surprising resilience despite widespread damage from Russia’s war.

The Ukrainian economy has shown improving growth and lower inflation this year after the disastrous loss in 2022 of around a third of its output, including from war destruction and Russian occupation of key industrial areas.

Key to that improvement has been foreign financial aid, which gets less attention than military supplies but