UNITED NATIONS, May 16. /TASS/. Ukraine’s foreign debt has already surpassed 89% of its GDP, as a result of Western aid, and will exceed its GDP by the end of 2023, Russia’s envoy to the UN Vasily Nebenzya said at the UN Security Council on Monday.

"We will hear a lot today about the solidarity of the Western community with Ukraine, the readiness to support it ‘as long as it takes.’ However, it is necessary to understand that this support is taking Ukraine to the brink," he said. "Its foreign debt surged to a record $132 billion, or 89% of GDP in 2022. It’s estimated that by the end of this year it will exceed 100%."

Nebenzya said that "enormous funds allocated to Ukraine by the IMF, the EU, and Washington, are driving that country into a debt pit."

"After all, all this solidarity is by no means free," he continued. "And ordinary Ukrainians will have to repay the debts."

Nebenzya noted that the American financial company BlackRock, with which Kiev signed an agreement to start the Ukraine Development Fund, will be in charge of managing the funds provided to Ukraine.

"What essentially is happening under the guise of attracting private investment for large-scale projects in key areas of the economy, is a transfer of state sovereignty to external corporate management of the world's largest investment fund headquartered in New York," the Russian diplomat said.