At the Nordic countries’ summit held in Kyiv on 23 August, participants discussed financial assistance and strengthening Ukraine with anti-ballistic capabilities ahead of winter. Funding is needed both for anti-ballistic defence and for drone production in order to respond to Russia’s escalation.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said this at a press conference after the summit. He stressed that the issue of the funding shortfall was also discussed.
The shortfall in the Ministry of Defence budget for this year is $27bn.
“$8–10bn is needed now so that in January and February our army has weapons and civilians have appropriate protection. I mean air defence and so on. So that’s roughly those $8–10bn. And $20bn is urgent money because it is needed for the remaining four months of this year. It is needed immediately,” he said.
Leaders discussed various ways of covering this shortfall. One option is to use frozen Russian assets. Another is to speed up the second tranche from the €90bn loan from the European Union. Separately, they will work with countries outside the EU.
- At a meeting with journalists on 22 August, the President said that the Ministry of Defence budget shortfall this year amounts to $27bn because it used the funds earmarked for the second half of the year during the first half. Ukraine is expecting $30bn from European partners, but these funds depend on further legislative decisions.