Ukraine’s international reserves hit a historic high: what’s behind the growth
7 January 22:58
Ukraine’s international reserves grew by 4.6% in December 2025 compared to November and amounted to $57.3 billion as of January 1. This was reported by the National Bank of Ukraine, according to "Komersant Ukrainian".
It is noted that Ukraine’s international reserves as of January 1, 2026, according to preliminary data, amounted to $57,292.5 million, which is the highest figure in the history of independent Ukraine.
In December, they grew by 4.6% compared to November 2025, primarily due to inflows from international partners, which exceeded the National Bank’s net currency sales and the country’s debt payments in foreign currency.
According to reports, in December, US$6.91 billion was transferred to the government’s currency accounts at the NBU, including US$3.91 billion through World Bank accounts and US$2.7 billion from the EU under the Ukraine Facility financial instrument.
The Ukrainian government paid $668.4 million for servicing and repaying foreign currency government debt, including $212.9 million in debt to the World Bank.
In addition, Ukraine paid $171.4 million to the International Monetary Fund.
NBU operations on the foreign exchange market
The second factor affecting the size of reserves was the National Bank’s operations on the currency market. The NBU sold $4.7 billion and bought $0.5 million for its reserves. Thus, the NBU’s net currency sales in December amounted to $4.7 billion, which is 1.7 times more than in November.
“The increase in NBU interventions in currency sales last month is primarily due to the traditional seasonal factor—the intensification of budget expenditures and business operations at the end of the year. At the same time, compared to December 2024, the volume of interventions was 13% lower,” the National Bank explained.
The third factor was the revaluation of financial instruments, which increased their value by $1.16 billion.
Overall, Ukraine’s international reserves grew by 30.8% in 2025, according to the NBU.
The current volume of international reserves provides financing for 5.9 months of future imports.
As noted by NBU Governor Andriy Pyshnyy, the record growth in international reserves during a full-scale war was made possible by the synergy of three factors: strong support from our international partners, stable operation of the domestic debt market, and the National Bank’s policy, which “allows us to spend less than the country receives and build up a ‘safety cushion’.
In 2026, Ukraine expects to receive more than $45 billion from international partners.
