Ukraine Plans Record Defense Spending for 2027

Ukraine plans to allocate a record 4.89tn hryvnias ($110bn), to defense in 2027, 12% more than this year and equivalent to roughly two-thirds of the proposed 7.27tn hryvnias ($160bn) budget.

Roksolana Pidlasa, head of the parliamentary budget committee, said the daily cost of the war has risen from $116m in 2022 to $190m currently, while government revenues have not kept pace with rising expenditures.

Finance Minister Sergii Marchenko said Kyiv will need more than $52bn in foreign financial aid next year, though partners have so far pledged only about $20bn. He added that frozen Russian assets could be a key source for covering the budget shortfall.

Since the invasion began, Ukraine has received approximately $198bn in fiscal aid from foreign partners, with the EU providing the largest share. Lawmakers have until 1 October to submit comments on the budget proposal and must approve it by 1 December.

(Reuters, bak)