The IMF and Ukrainian authorities have agreed on $20B in funding for budgetary needs.

 Ukraine reached a preliminary agreement with the International Monetary Fund that may open a path to a financial lifeline as the war-battered nation seeks as much as $20B to shore up its reserves and budget needs. The deal between Kyiv and the Washington-based lender is a so-called staff-level agreement to establish a full lending program to unlock billions in financing next year providing the government meets conditions, according to the lender’s statement on Wednesday. The four-month program “will provide an anchor for macroeconomic policies and catalyze donor support,” Gavin Gray, who led the IMF mission, said in a statement.