ANKARA

Standard & Poor's cut Ukraine’s credit rating Friday, saying a default may be inevitable since IMF disbursements have been slow and the country's foreign currency reserves have dropped. 

The U.S.-based credit rating agency lowered Ukraine's long-term sovereign credit rating from triple-C to triple-C-minus, the lowest possible score before failure to pay, according to a report on its website.

“A default could become inevitable in the next few months if circumstances do not change; for instance, if additional international financial support is not forthcoming,” S&P said. “The delay in IMF disbursements in 2014, coupled with significantly reduced foreign currency official reserves, increases the risk that the Ukrainian government might not be able to meet its obligations."

According to IMF estimates, the country would need an additional $15 billion after IMF's $27 billion package. 

Ukraine only received $4.6 billion so far, under the April 2014 IMF program.

 The country’s foreign reserves have dropped from $16.3 billion in May 2014 to approximately $9 billion by the end of last month, including gold reserves, which have dropped to less than $1 billion from $1.6 billion. 

The rating agency also said that, over the past two months, reserves have dropped by nearly 40 percent ($5.7 billion), mainly due to paying off debt to Gazprom for Russian gas. 

Russia annexed Crimea in March after a controversial referendum, which drew the ire of international observers as Russian soldiers occupied the region during the voting process.  

The conflict in eastern Ukraine remains relatively contained in the areas of Donetsk and Luhansk, regions whose economies and infrastructure have been severely damaged by the fighting. 

More than 5,000 people have been killed and at least 9,000 wounded in the conflict between the Ukrainian government and pro-Russian separatists since mid-April, according to the UN. 

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