(MENAFN- AFP) Ukraine needs greater financial aid from the world's biggest economies to prevent the conflict-wracked country from becoming a failed state, finance minister Natalie Jaresko said in an interview with the Financial Times Tuesday.

"I believe strongly that the G7, and frankly speaking the broader G20, has a responsibility right now to support Ukraine in a much bigger way financially," Jaresko said.

The International Monetary Fund and the West have pledged a bailout totalling 40 billion dollars for Ukraine, which is fighting a war with pro-Russian separatists in the east.

But Jaresko said that more was needed, warning that "the cost of a failed state will be so much greater".

The Ukrainian economy, now in plunging recession, was weak even before the deadly rebellion erupted in its eastern industrial heartland almost a year ago.

GDP is expected to drop 5.5 percent this year, following a 7.0-percent contraction in 2014.

The IMF estimates that Ukraine's debt-to-GDP ratio will hit 94 percent this year before declining to 71 percent by 2020.