MOSCOW, May 8 (RIA Novosti) - The International Monetary Fund has approved the allocation of $2.8 billion to Ukraine as a second tranche of a stabilization loan, the fund said on its website on Friday.

"The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) today completed the first review of Ukraine's economic performance..., and approved the immediate release of the second tranche under the arrangement equivalent to SDR 1.9 billion (about US$2.8 billion)," the IMF said.

Ukraine has been hit hard by the global economic crisis, which primarily affected the ex-Soviet country's banking system and steel exports.

In November 2008, the IMF approved a $16.43 billion stabilization loan to assist Ukraine's economy. Kiev received the first tranche worth $4.5 billion shortly after.