In May, Ukraine's international reserves fell to $45.7 billion
In May 2026, Ukraine’s international reserves decreased by 5.2% and stood at $45.7 billion as of June 1. This was reported by the National Bank of Ukraine, which noted the change in reserve levels at the end of the month.
The National Bank notes that this trend was driven by the National Bank’s foreign exchange interventions and the country’s debt payments in foreign currency. These transactions exceeded the proceeds from the placement of foreign currency domestic government bonds (hereinafter “foreign currency OVDPs”) and from international partners.
It is emphasized that despite the decrease, the volume of international reserves is sufficient to maintain the stability of the foreign exchange market.
Overall, the dynamics of reserves in May 2026 were determined by a number of factors, in particular the National Bank’s operations in Ukraine’s foreign exchange market.
“In May, compared to April 2026, the National Bank’s net foreign exchange sales decreased by 12.4%. According to the NBU’s balance sheet data, the bank sold $3,134.9 million on the foreign exchange market in May,” the regulator noted.
The second factor affecting the size of reserves was government receipts and payments for servicing and repaying public debt
In May, $599.2 million was received into the government’s foreign currency accounts at the National Bank, including $498.8 million through World Bank accounts and $100.4 million from the placement of foreign currency government bonds.
USD 126.2 million was paid for servicing and repaying public debt in foreign currency, including: USD 12.9 million for servicing and repaying debt to the World Bank; $7.9 million for servicing foreign currency government bonds; $105.4 million for payments to other creditors.
In addition, Ukraine paid $274.9 million to the International Monetary Fund.
Third, the size of reserves was affected by the revaluation of financial instruments (as a result of changes in market value and exchange rates) and other factors. In May, the value of financial instruments increased by $441.9 million due to revaluation.
The NBU emphasizes that the current level of international reserves is sufficient to finance 4.7 months of future imports.
The National Bank of Ukraine has published an analytical review of the non-bank financial sector for the first quarter of 2026. The report notes significant market growth: the total share of non-bank financial institutions in assets under NBU supervision increased by 0.2 percentage points and now stands at 9%.
We also remind you that the National Bank of Ukraine has tightened foreign exchange restrictions on international payments. This will help prevent unproductive capital outflows from the country.
Earlier, we reported that the Northern Commercial Court of Appeal in Kyiv confirmed that state-owned PrivatBank cannot be returned to its former owner, Ihor Kolomoyskyi.
