In Ukraine, officials spoke about a shortage of money for military needs

Ukraine will face a defense budget shortfall of €19.6 billion in 2026.

This was reported by the Kyiv Independent (KI), citing a European Commission presentation.

The European Commission document says that the EU’s €90 billion loan will fully finance Ukraine’s 2026 budget, but a gap will still remain in defense spending. Specifically, Ukraine will need €134.6 billion for defense in 2026, compared with €111.4 billion in 2025.

“Kyiv will face a defense budget deficit of €19.6 billion ($23.1 billion) in 2026, even taking into account the €86.7 billion ($102 billion) already allocated to the country and an additional €28.3 billion ($33.9 billion) that will come under the EU’s €90 billion support loan for Ukraine,” the outlet writes.

European Commissioner for Economy Valdis Dombrovskis told journalists that Kyiv could also face a funding shortfall in 2027 if it does not find additional sources of financing.

The publication notes that the International Monetary Fund expects Ukraine to receive $38 billion from the EU in 2027 to cover its budget deficit. However, it is projected that Kyiv will receive only $15.6 billion in 2027, that is, less than half of the promised amount.

One EU representative said that the allocation of these funds will come with conditions meant to push Kyiv toward adopting EU and IMF membership rules.

“These measures include increasing Kyiv’s capacity to raise tax revenues, reducing corruption, and bringing Ukraine into line with European norms and standards,” the outlet notes.

On April 22, Hungary and Slovakia lifted their veto on the European €90 billion loan for Ukraine. EU ambassadors approved not only the loan, but also the 20th package of sanctions against Russia. At the same time, the procedure will be fully completed by the end of the week.

Before that, both the sanctions package and the loan had been blocked by Hungary because Ukraine had halted the transit of Russian oil through the Druzhba pipeline. On April 21, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that repairs to the Druzhba pipeline had been completed.