The Defense Ministry’s budget shortfall currently stands at $27 billion. At the start of the year, the ministry decided to use funds planned for the second half of the year. They were spent on drones and other needs.
Now this needs to be covered and additional funds added. This is the main challenge, LB’s correspondent reported, citing the Ukrainian president’s remarks from a meeting with journalists.
“We need $8–10 billion of that to ensure a normal start to next year, because this money is effectively needed in advance—to provide weapons and everything necessary for January 2027. Plus nearly $20 billion is for the salaries of our service members, payments to the families of those killed, and other areas of funding. A lot of money is needed. I am working on this issue with the French and the Germans. In effect, we need to bring forward the second tranche of European funds that were earmarked for Ukraine, and this is an extremely difficult task,” said Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Ukraine expects $30 billion from its European partners, but these funds depend on further legislative decisions.
“They are tied to the adoption of the relevant legislation. And it is very important that parliament works—the entire parliament, including the opposition. Because those $30 billion belong neither to the government nor to the opposition; they are needed for the defense of the whole country,” the president commented.