Finance Minister Serhii Marchenko commented on a statement by a European Commission representative about there being no shortfall in Ukraine’s external financing in 2026. He stresses that these are different funding streams — state budget needs and additional defence spending.
He said this in a statement by Ukraine’s Finance Minister Serhii Marchenko.
According to Marchenko, it is necessary to separate the budget and military funding tracks.
The first stream: international financing for state budget needs. This refers to funds Ukraine uses to cover non-military expenditure. By the end of the year, the country needs to receive $29.5bn from partners. Ukraine received more than $3bn of this amount on 2 October.
Marchenko noted that Ukraine will receive the necessary funding provided it fulfils all agreed commitments on the Ukrainian side.
“There will be no funding gap if we fully do our homework on our commitments,” the minister said.
The second stream — guaranteed EU funds under the Ukraine Support Loan (USL) for defence needs, including the procurement of weapons and drones. According to Marchenko, these funds are unconditional, and €17bn remains available to be drawn down by the end of 2026.
The minister added that Ukraine has agreed with the European Commission to speed up work on approving the requests submitted by the Ukrainian side.
At the same time, in August 2026 the Ministry of Defence reported an additional defence requirement of $27bn, even after the full drawdown of funds under the USL.
According to Marchenko, this week representatives of the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Defence and the European Commission held meetings in Brussels, where they discussed possible ways to cover this requirement. The Ukrainian side has developed a plan and presented its vision.
Using domestic resources, Ukraine plans to cover more than $7bn of this amount. This involves savings and the reallocation of expenditure.
A further around $12bn, Marchenko said, Ukraine expects to find through joint efforts with partners. The remaining funds are a critical need, and the government is working to identify a source to cover it.
Marchenko noted that the European Commission will not be able to cover this part of the requirement due to the lack of appropriate instruments in 2026.
“We continue to work around the clock with partners to ensure all the needs of Ukraine’s budget are met,” the minister said.
Earlier, on 2 October, European Commission chief spokesperson Paula Pinho said that after a meeting between EU and Ukrainian representatives on 1 October, the sides concluded there was no funding gap in Ukraine’s external financing for 2026.
According to her, the European Commission, together with the Ukrainian side, assessed whether the previously stated gap exists and to what extent.