US to sign $1-billion loan guarantee with Ukraine Monday - Kiev

"Today, May 18, at 5:00 p.m. [14:00 GMT], the official signing ceremony on the agreement of allotting credit guarantees between the government of Ukraine and the United States will take place," the ministry said in a statement. Finance Minister Natalie Jaresko will sign the agreement on behalf of Ukraine, while the US government will be represented by US Ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey R. Pyatt and USAID's Ukraine director Jed Barton, according to the ministry. The Ukrainian economy has suffered greatly from the armed conflict in the country's eastern Donetsk and Lugansk regions over the last year. The country's authorities have estimated that reconstruction in the troubled regions would cost about $1.5 billion. In late April, the Ukrainian government hosted an international conference aimed, among other things, at gathering financial support. Ukraine has already been promised $17 billion in bailout loans from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), $1.9 billion from the European Union, as well as various sums from national governments, Kazinform refers to Sputnik International.