Ukraine’s defense needs for the next year are estimated at at least $120 billion, of which only half can be covered by the state budget.
This was reported by Roksolana Pidlasa, Chair of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Budget, on Facebook.
According to her, the cost of defending against Russian forces is constantly rising: last year, one day of war cost the Ukrainian budget $140 million, while now the war with Russia costs Ukraine $172 million per day.
This amount includes not only salaries for servicemembers, ammunition, and weapons, but also financial support for wounded soldiers, families of the missing, and the deceased.
Currently, Ukraine spends 31% of its GDP on defense, the highest rate in the world, Pidlasa emphasized. She added that the country covers military expenses from its own revenues and domestic borrowing but still needs assistance from international partners.
“We aim to ensure at least $120 billion for Ukraine’s defense next year. This amount includes funds from Ukraine’s state budget ($60 billion) and military deliveries of weapons and ammunition through the Ramstein platform, PURL, SAFE, the Danish model, and others ($60 billion),” she noted.
Pidlasa also called on partners to allow the use of direct budget support for defense needs. She pointed out that currently only the United Kingdom permits its contributions to the Ukrainian budget to be spent on military procurement; other partners should follow the same path.
“It will be much easier and politically more acceptable to do this using Russian money rather than EU taxpayers’ funds. That is why the idea of a ‘Reparations Credit,’ announced by the President of the European Commission, or any other plan to help Ukraine cover its defense needs, is more than appropriate. Everyone keeps saying that Russia should pay. Perhaps it is time to make that happen,” Pidlasa concluded.
