Budget deficit: Ukraine’s new defense minister described the real state of affairs in the Armed Forces

Ukraine’s new Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, speaking in the Verkhovna Rada, drew attention to the difficult financial situation and staffing problems in the Ministry of Defense, which directly affect planning for the provision and support of service members.

Media reports say that.

According to Fedorov, decisions on increasing payments for military personnel are possible only after a thorough analysis of the available capital and resources in the Armed Forces and, more broadly, in the Defense Forces. The minister stressed the need to assess current capabilities in order to later determine priorities for improving financial support for different categories of troops.

“We first need to sort out the capital that already exists today in the Armed Forces and in the Defense Forces in general, and only after that forecast our further actions—how we will increase financial support, when we will increase it, and for which specific categories we will increase it,” Fedorov said.

Fedorov emphasized that the Ministry of Defense is currently facing large-scale financial and кадровые (personnel) difficulties. In particular, he cited figures of two million Ukrainians who are “on the wanted list,” as well as 200,000 people listed in a special report on personnel numbers (SZCh). The minister said his approach is based on a realistic assessment of the situation rather than populism.

He added that the defense ministry’s budget shortfall currently exceeds 300 billion hryvnias, which requires a balanced approach to financial planning and further decisions on supporting the army.

As a reminder, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine elected Mykhailo Fedorov as defense minister. 277 MPs voted for the appointment.