For that reason Ukrainian officials were forced into a volte-face on the question of debt restructuring.
For months they have insisted that the country would repay its foreign creditors in full. The day before the new bail-out Vladyslav Rashkovan, the acting deputy governor of the central bank, said that restructuring was “not on the table”. The plan has now changed. The prospect of drawn-out negotiations spooked some investors, who sold their bonds. The hope is that the new owners will come round to Ukraine’s point of view. Accepting some losses on loans may now be the only way they will get anything back.