Ukraine will begin negotiations with its creditors on restructuring its debt, the finance minister said Thursday.
Citing the need to "reduce pressure on the budget from the public debt", Natalie Jaresko, in remarks quoted by her spokeswoman, said: "We will start talks tomorrow with our creditors on a restructuring."
Jaresko did not specify which debt might be restructured.
Ukraine`s creditors include Russia, which owns $3 billion in Ukrainian eurobonds, out of the total $17 billion issued by Kiev.
Loans from foreign banks and governments could also be targeted, analysts said.
The announcement came a day after the International Monetary Fund approved a $17.5-billion lifeline to the cash-strapped country to stave off a threatened default.
Five billion dollars will be disbursed immediately.
The IMF said successful debt restructuring would be "a key consideration" for the payment of later tranches.
Part of the IMF package will go towards shoring up the national currency, the hryvnia, which lost over two-thirds of its dollar value in the past year as government forces battled a pro-Russian rebellion in the east.
The currency`s devaluation has nudged up the debt.
The IMF estimated that Ukraine`s debt-to-GDP ratio would hit 94 percent this year and that external debt would reach 158 percent.
