During the period of full-scale war, Ukraine’s public and government-guaranteed debt has more than doubled. While it stood at $95.38 billion in January 2022, by September 2026 the figure had reached $212.61 billion. This was reported by Dengi.ua, citing an infographic from “Slovo i Dilo”.
Government debt obligations include several categories. The first category consists of domestic borrowing, specifically domestic government bonds (OVDP), which are purchased by banks, companies, and citizens. The second category consists of external loans provided by international financial organizations, foreign governments, and banks.
A separate category consists of obligations for which the state acts as a guarantor of the repayment of debts owed by state-owned enterprises and institutions to domestic and foreign creditors. However, the debt of local government bodies is not included in this category.
External Borrowing Accounts For an Increasingly Large Share of Public Debt
A comparison of data from January 2022 and September 2026 reveals a significant change in the structure of Ukraine’s debt. The main trend is a marked increase in dependence on external financing.
Prior to the full-scale invasion, domestic debt stood at $36.86 billion, while external debt was $47.38 billion. According to the latest data from the Ministry of Finance, by September 2026, domestic debt had risen to $44.49 billion, while external debt had reached $162.52 billion.
Thus, the difference between these two categories increased more than tenfold - from $10.52 billion to $118.03 billion.
One of the main factors was the sharp expansion of credit support from the European Union. During the period under review, the volume of such loans increased more than 12.5-fold: from $4.91 billion to $61.94 billion. In addition, during the years of full-scale war, Ukraine received $19.78 billion under the ERA program. These loans are to be repaid using proceeds from frozen Russian assets.
Other notable lenders include the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) - with an increase from $6.12 billion to $18.98 billion - as well as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), up from $4.34 billion to $14.37 billion. However, the disbursement of subsequent tranches by these organizations is contingent upon Ukraine’s fulfillment of a number of requirements and conditions.
Ukraine’s creditors also include the governments of certain countries, such as Canada and Japan. From January 2022 through September 2026, the volume of such borrowing grew more than fivefold - from $1.49 billion to $7.92 billion.
At the same time, debt to individual foreign banks increased significantly less - by less than a third, from $1.83 billion to $2.35 billion.
State-Guaranteed Debt Declined
In contrast to total government debt, the volume of liabilities backed by government guarantees nearly halved during this period. In January 2022, it stood at $11.14 billion, and by September 2026, it had fallen to $5.6 billion.
The main reason was a reduction in the liabilities of the National Bank of Ukraine, which was the primary recipient of such financing. The NBU repaid its previously incurred debts and subsequently obtained the necessary funds through direct loans from the government.
Debt Service Costs Continue to Rise
Although the total volume of public and government-guaranteed debt has more than doubled, debt service costs in dollar terms have increased by about one and a half times. Whereas the government previously spent about $15 million per day on these costs, the amount now stands at $23 million.
In hryvnias, the increase in expenditures was even more significant, partly due to the depreciation of the national currency. In 2021, Ukraine allocated 155.652 billion UAH to service its public debt, and by the end of 2025, expenditures reached 361.567 billion UAH.
