DISINFO: Ukraine needs war in Donbas to receive financial aid from the IMF
SUMMARY
The Ukrainian authorities need a war in Donbas as a condition for receiving financial assistance from the IMF. […] the war in the east of Ukraine is a guarantee that the West continues its funding of Ukraine.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about the war in Ukraine, aiming to portray the conflict as Ukraine's civil war. The IMF promotes international financial stability, monetary cooperation, employment and sustainable economic growth, facilitates international trade and helps to reduce global poverty. Cooperation between Ukraine and the IMF is based on bilateral agreements and a commitment of the Ukrainian authorities to implement reforms necessary for the development of the state. In the latest memorandum, agreed in June 2020, Ukraine and the IMF set out the four priorities: to mitigate the economic impact of the COVID-19 crisis, to ensure continued central bank independence and a flexible exchange rate, to safeguard financial stability, and to move forward with key governance and anti-corruption measures. See earlier disinformation cases on Ukraine-IMF cooperation in our database: that Ukraine agrees to carry out genocide of Ukrainian citizens in exchange for IMF loans, that the memorandum with IMF is putting Ukraine under external control, that IMF policy in Ukraine aims to turn Ukrainians into the cheap labour force, or that Ukraine spends half of its budget to pay debts.