In April 2025, Ukraine’s total state and state-guaranteed debt increased by 5%, reaching $180 billion. From January to April of the current year, the growth amounted to 8.4%. The key factor behind this increase was the accumulation of debt to the European Union, which rose by $13.1 billion.
This is reported by Business • Media
Factors Influencing the Growth of National Debt
Experts identify several main reasons for the increase in national debt:
- The strengthening of the euro against the dollar by more than 10% since the beginning of 2025, which led to a revaluation of the dollar equivalent of debt obligations denominated in euros.
- Attracting financing under the G7 ERA initiative, which is to be repaid from future profits from frozen assets of the Russian Federation. Such obligations are currently classified as conditional.
- Receiving concessional macro-financial assistance from the EU amounting to $3.3 billion under the Ukraine Facility instrument.
“As reminded by the financial committee of parliament, in April 2025, the state and state-guaranteed debt increased by 5% and reached $180 billion. From January to April, the national debt grew by 8.4%. Almost all of the debt increase is attributed to the rise in obligations to the EU by $13.1 billion.”
Structure of Ukraine’s National Debt
At the same time, due to a decrease in the volume of domestic government bond placements (OVDP) at auctions, the direct domestic national debt during this period decreased in hryvnia equivalent by 1.8%, which equals a reduction of ₴33.4 billion.
- 74.5% of the debt is accounted for by external obligations, while 25.5% is internal.
- 76.4% of the debt is denominated in foreign currency, and 23.6% is in hryvnia.
- 67.7% is fixed-rate debt, while 32.3% is variable-rate debt.
Structural changes in the national debt indicate a strengthening role of external financing and currency obligations in Ukraine’s financial system.