Ukraine needs increased Western support to avoid "printing money", EBRD says

Ukraine needs both financial and military support to prevent the government in Kyiv from resorting to "money-printing" to keep the economy afloat.

Source: The Guardian, citing the chief economist of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Beata Javorcik, in an interview at Davos.

Javorcik said that the economic situation in Ukraine is challenging, even though last year's economic growth was just under 5%.

Quote: "The big risk is that if money doesn’t come in from abroad, things could spiral and the government might have to resort to the printing press. The government has done a very good job in ensuring macroeconomic stability, but we don’t want to have a failed state on our hands.

We need to support Ukraine not only militarily but through budget support."

Javorcik added that the EBRD plans to invest between €7.5 and €15 billion into the Ukrainian economy over the next five years, focusing on supporting the private sector. 

She noted a "big risk", considering the likelihood of the ongoing conflict, that the economy could be undermined.

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