But if the crisis took its toll on the entire region, the epicenter of the shock was Ukraine. In the emergency bailout of April 2014, the IMF had started its estimate of Ukraine’s economic situation from an exchange rate of 12.5 hryvnia to the dollar. The IMF had called on Kiev to impose currency controls to prevent capital flight, while letting its currency float and allowing domestic prices to adjust to whatever level would ensure the viability of government-owned gas firms.
