“I was stunned by the figure”: Ukrainian senior MP on country’s debt restructuring plan

Source: Yaroslav Zheleznyak/Telegram

On Thursday, Ukraine’s parliamentary budet committee has put forward a bill 11396-1 that aims to restructure Ukraine’s national debt and grant the government the power to temporarily suspend external debt payments.

Roksolana Pidlasa, the budget committee head, is leading the charge. “We will ask the Verkhovna Rada to support this project at the next plenary session, as it is a crucial element of the restructuring,” said the MP arguing the policy had the ‘support’ from the International Monetary Fund.

According to the estimates, the move could help Ukraine save $10 billion by the end of 2027 through reduced servicing and repayment of sovereign eurobonds.  It will give the government the green light to pause external debt payments and add the former “Ukravtodor” state road company debt to the national debt for restructuring.

Pidlasa explained that debt pertains to a series of 2021 eurobonds worth a massive $700 million plus interest.

The idea got a wry reaction from MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak, “I honestly discovered the figure of  the debts stemming from the ‘Great Construction’ [govermental project] for the first time today…It is  $700 million plus interest. I was stunned by the figure.”