The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said it reached a staff-level agreement with Ukraine, setting the stage for talks on a full loan programme that would support Kyiv's economy and its bid to join the European Union.
The IMF said the agreement on the first and final review of a Programme Monitoring with Board Involvement (PMB) was subject to IMF management approval and showed positive results.
Ukraine was seen to have "strong" performance under a four-month programme with the International Monetary Fund, meeting its targets and benchmarks, said Gavin Gray, who led the IMF mission.
"A fully-fledged IMF programme would be supportive of the Ukrainian government's efforts toward EU accession," Gray said in a statement.
He added that authorities are "making progress in reforms to strengthen governance, anti-corruption and rule of law, and lay the foundations for post-war growth."
