Ukraine wants its foreign debt written off

Ukraine has called on international financial organizations to cancel the country's foreign debts claiming massive destruction in the country caused by the Russian military offensive that began last Thursday.

“The scale of destruction in Ukraine … is colossal! In view of this, our external creditors must be required to write off Ukraine's debts. To date, the external debt is 1.6 trillion hryvnia, or more than $57 billion.

International financial organizations should revise the debt policy and zero out the debts of Ukraine!” the head of the Accounts Chamber of Ukraine, Valeriy Patskan, wrote on his Facebook page on Tuesday.

Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine last Thursday. President Vladimir Putin said its goal is “the protection of people who have been subjected to bullying and genocide by the Kiev regime for eight years,” referring to the shelling of the two Donbass republics, which broke away from Ukraine in 2014.

Russia’s Ministry of Defense has been repeatedly stating that its armed forces target only the military infrastructure and Ukrainian troops, not the civilian population. However, many Western states see the military operation as an “unprovoked” aggression against Ukraine, hitting Moscow with sanctions.

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