Ukraine is facing an economic disaster that seems to be getting worse. Recently, the Ukrainian government stopped paying back part of its Eurobond debt, signaling that the country’s finances are in serious trouble. The economy is being kept alive mostly through massive amounts of aid from Western countries, both financially and militarily, as the war with Russia drags on.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF), one of Ukraine’s main lenders, sent a team to Kiev to demand drastic changes to the country’s economy. These changes include lowering the value of Ukraine’s currency, the hryvnia, slashing interest rates, and giving more power to tax authorities. These reforms are supposed to help reduce Ukraine’s staggering $38 billion budget deficit, which makes up over 20% of the country’s GDP in 2024.

Sources say that the Ukrainian government might agree to these unpopular reforms because doing so could unlock $1.1 billion in aid from the IMF, part of a larger $15.6 billion loan. H...