“This year, Ukraine’s budget once again lacks sufficient funds for defense,” – says MP

The funds allocated in Ukraine’s state budget for defense will again fall short this year — as they did in 2023 and 2024. As of May, the overspending already amounts to approximately 200 billion hryvnias (≈ €4.34 billion).

This was reported by Member of Parliament Yaroslav Zheleznyak.

“By mid-May, it’s already clear that the planned military expenditures are insufficient, and the actual need is greater — currently around 200 billion hryvnias. The government will soon submit a draft amendment to the 2025 budget to increase defense funding by at least 200–250 billion hryvnias (≈ €4.34–5.42 billion). Parliament will vote for it,” the MP stated.

Last year, the shortfall was covered by raising taxes. However, according to Zheleznyak, that will likely not be necessary this time.

“Changes to the 2025 budget are underway, including an increase in defense spending by approximately 200 billion hryvnias. This amount has to come from somewhere. Some media outlets speculated it would come from tax hikes, but as far as I know, it won’t. Instead, it will be funded through better-than-expected budget revenues (customs and tax services have exceeded projections), increased domestic borrowing, and reallocating funds from underperforming programs. There may be some international donors, but that’s unlikely,” Zheleznyak said.

Media outlets had already reported this issue in April, warning that military salaries might be at risk. At the time, the Ministry of Finance assured the public that salaries for service members would be paid, and the funds for this were accounted for in the budget.