Ukraine's population tired of IMF demands

Igor Kolomoisky, former business partner of incumbent president Vladimir Zelensky, does not see a problem with a Ukrainian debt default because the local population is tired of IMF demands and inclined to make a fresh start. Reportedly, Ukraine's external debt amounts to 60% of gross domestic product.

According to Mr. Kolomoisky, the United States and EU should write off Ukraine’s external debt entirely as payment for the country’s suffering during their struggle with Russia. “This is your game, your geopolitics,” he told the Financial Times. “You don’t care about Ukraine. You want to hurt Russia, and Ukraine is just an excuse.”

At the same time, Dmitry Razumkov, head of Zelensky’s party Servant of the People, has attempted to convince investors that the option of the default is not the way this country would go.

However, the statement of Kolomoisky, who has influence on the new president, put creditors and investors on alert. It is clear as daylight why the oligarch needs the default: he wants to buy cheap assets including state-owned ones.

Some experts see nothing wrong with the default. Alexander Okhrimenko, president of the Ukrainian Analytical Center, thinks the default is nothing but a scarecrow. In fact, all the fuss will end in debt swaps.