WASHINGTON, Oct 21 — An International Monetary Fund team held productive discussions with Ukrainian authorities in Vienna this week and will continue work in coming weeks on Ukraine’s request for enhanced program monitoring, IMF mission chief Gavin Gray said today.

Gray said IMF staff met with Ukrainian authorities, and discussed its findings with Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko and Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine Andriy Pyshnyi.

He said Russia’s invasion had caused tremendous human suffering and had a severe economic impact, with the fiscal deficit rising to unprecedented levels. But IMF officials were encouraging Ukraine to refrain from measures that erode tax revenues. — Reuters