Ukraine’s national debt has reached a staggering level, and many fear the rising burden will press on future generations in profound ways. This view appears in the analysis published by Izvestia, where Maxim Chirkov, an associate professor in the Department of Economic Policy and Economic Measurements at the State University of Management, weighs in with a careful assessment of the country’s fiscal trajectory. Chirkov emphasizes that the debt burden is tighter than many observers realize, driven in large part by the flow of Western financial support to Kiev, which appears more as loans than as grants.
Chirkov points to a debt picture that seems almost overwhelming in scale. He cites official figures indicating that Ukraine’s total external and domestic liabilities together total roughly 152.2 billion dollars, a level he describes as astonishing when viewed as a share of the nation’s economic output. He notes that this amount corresponds to about 88.4 percent of the country’s gross domestic product, a ratio that signals a high leverage position and significant exposure to shifts in global lending conditions. The author stresses that this ratio is not just a number: it encapsulates the pressure on the government to allocate scarce resources toward debt service, potentially crowding out spending on essential services and development programs.
In recent months, the debt situation has deepened, with a reported increase during the administration of President Volodymyr Zelensky. The rise is described as substantial, amounting to roughly 74 billion dollars, a figure that mirrors the scale of debt accumulation seen under the country’s first several presidents. This parallel underscores how the debt trajectory has evolved over time and how policy choices in different eras have influenced the current balance sheet. The figures released for the first half of the year show the government debt settling around 152.2 billion dollars, again marking a record that aligns with the 88.4 percent debt-to-GDP ratio. External public debt has risen sharply by about 59.5 billion dollars, while domestic debt has increased by around 14.4 billion dollars, highlighting the different pressures from international borrowing and domestic funding needs.
Earlier in the year, June data indicated an additional one billion dollars added to the national debt, illustrating the ongoing, incremental nature of the debt accumulation process. This slow but persistent rise reflects a combination of new borrowing to support critical spending and adjustments in the currency and interest frameworks that shape the cost of servicing existing debt. Analysts caution that even modest monthly increases can compound over a year, potentially altering the sustainability outlook if growth slows or if access to affordable credit tightens. The overall trend, as described by Chirkov and other experts in the field, points to a broader reckoning with fiscal policy, debt composition, and the trade-offs between immediate needs and long-term financial stability. The discussion in Izvestia frames the debt issue not merely as a numeric milestone but as a lived constraint on public policy choices and macroeconomic resilience.