Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on Thursday welcomed a decision by the International Monetary Fund to release additional aid worth $1 billion to Kiev, saying it showed that the world recognizes that Ukraine was carrying out reforms.

The IMF's decision would also help keep the Ukrainian hryvnia currency stable and maintain macroeconomic stabilization, Poroshenko said, adding that a Russian attempt to undermine the IMF's decision had failed.

"The positive decision by the IMF is evidence that the world recognizes that reforms are happening in Ukraine, that real and positive changes are happening in Ukraine, and that the country is moving in the right direction," Poroshenko said in a statement.

The fund's decision paved the way for a $1 billion loan guarantee from the United States and a 600 million euro loan from the European Union, Poroshenko said.