MOSCOW — The International Monetary Fund agreed on Thursday to throw a new $17.5 billion lifeline to Ukraine, hoping to stabilize the country as it teeters on the edge of default.
Announcing the program in Brussels on Thursday, the fund’s managing director, Christine Lagarde, acknowledged that there were serious risks in providing any credit to Ukraine but said that the aid was needed urgently.
She said that the government would also enter negotiations with its sovereign debt holders to reduce its huge borrowing costs, and that, along with other assistance, the total financing package for Ukraine would amount to about $40 billion over the next four years.
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