Funds allocated for military salaries in the fall have already been spent – source

This year, Ukraine is once again lacking the funds allocated in the original budget for the army, putting military salary payments at risk.

This is reported by various media outlets.

According to the reports, already in the first month of 2025, money initially planned to cover military salaries in the last months of the year was redirected to purchasing ammunition, drones, and other weaponry. A government source told the newspaper that the funds intended for salaries in the last quarter (October–November 2025) have already been used up. Another source added that the funds allocated for September are already being spent. In total, over 200 billion hryvnias (approximately €4.43 billion) have been spent beyond the original plan. As a result, the expenditure part of the budget will need to be increased by August to ensure the military does not go without pay in September.

According to the source, the decision to ramp up arms purchases beyond the budgeted amount—at the expense of military salaries—was made early in the year following instructions from President Volodymyr Zelensky. Back in December 2024, he reportedly instructed officials to prepare for a possible freeze in U.S. military aid or an escalation in fighting. Consequently, the Cabinet of Ministers began procuring more domestically-produced weapons.

Media reports note that the implementation of this plan was often accompanied by corruption and inefficiency. The Cabinet reported that the Ministry of Defense’s amount of non-recoverable accounts receivable exceeds 50 billion hryvnias (about €1.1 billion). These are overdue (but already paid for) contracts for weapons and ammunition, which even the Ministry of Defense itself considers unlikely to be fulfilled.

Following the publication of the article, the Ministry of Finance stated that there would be no problems with paying military salaries and that funds for this are indeed included in the budget.

It’s worth noting that a similar situation occurred last year as well, when it was reported that the Ministry of Defense lacked funds for combat payments to the Armed Forces of Ukraine because the money had been spent on weapons procurement.