Ukraine's international reserves have fallen to $45.7 billion: what happened

This was announced by the National Bank of Ukraine.

Ukraine’s international reserves continued to decline.

According to preliminary data from the NBU, as of 1 June 2026, they stood at $45.726 billion. In May, reserves fell by 5.2%.

By way of comparison, reserves stood at $48.2 billion on 1 May and at around $52 billion on 1 April. In other words, they fell by more than $6 billion over two months.

Why reserves have fallen

The NBU explained that the trend in reserves in May was driven by the National Bank’s foreign exchange interventions, payments on government debt in foreign currency, and payments to the IMF.

These transactions exceeded inflows from international partners and the placement of foreign currency government bonds. At the same time, the NBU emphasised that the current level of reserves remains sufficient to maintain the stability of the foreign exchange market.

How much currency did the NBU sell?

In May, the National Bank sold $3.134 billion on the foreign exchange market.

Compared to April, net currency sales fell by 12.4%, but it was interventions that remained one of the main factors behind the reduction in reserves.

How much money did the government receive

In May, $599.2 million was received into the government’s foreign exchange accounts at the NBU.

Of this amount:

$498.8 million – via World Bank accounts;

$100.4 million – from the placement of foreign currency government bonds.

During the same period, Ukraine allocated $126.2 million to service and repay its foreign currency public debt.

Specifically:

$12.9 million – for servicing and repaying debt to the World Bank;

$7.9 million – for servicing foreign currency government bonds;

$105.4 million – to other creditors.

In addition, Ukraine paid $274.9 million to the International Monetary Fund.

This partially offset the losses

The NBU also reported that, due to the revaluation of financial instruments, changes in market value and exchange rates, international reserves increased by $441.9 million in May.

However, this was insufficient to cover foreign exchange interventions and debt payments.

MP Nina Yuzhanina noted that the reduction in reserves is occurring against a backdrop of weaker foreign exchange inflows compared to outflows.

In her view, it was precisely the excess of foreign exchange expenditure over foreign exchange receipts that was the main reason for the decline in international reserves in May.

She also noted that reserves had fallen by more than $6 billion over two months.

What is important

Despite the decline in reserves, the NBU states that their current level is sufficient to finance 4.7 months of future imports.

This means that reserves remain substantial, but their trajectory will depend on the volume of international aid, the situation on the foreign exchange market, the government’s external payment needs, and the scale of the NBU’s interventions to support exchange rate stability.

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