The Ukrainian government is betting on the continuation of the war in 2027 in the draft state budget, and security and defense will remain the top spending priorities. This was stated by Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko before the Verkhovna Rada.
„The government timely presented the draft budget for 2027, developed in the conditions of a full-scale military invasion, which provides for the continuation of the war in 2027. Accordingly, priority spending has been determined – the security and defense sector“, said Marchenko.
According to him, the deputies have submitted over 5,000 amendments, and their consideration in the budget committee lasted more than nine hours. The minister emphasized that the additional expenses will depend on the available financial resources and the ability to maintain a balanced budget.
“The main priority is the security and defense sector, and then we will decide depending on the available resources“, said Marchenko. He pointed to international aid as one of the key sources of financing the Ukrainian budget.
Proposals for new expenses
The chairwoman of the budget committee, Roksolana Pidlasa, announced that the full inclusion of the submitted amendments would require another 13.5 trillion Ukrainian hryvnias – an amount equal, according to her, to almost two annual budgets of the country. Some of the proposals do not meet the requirements, as they do not indicate realistic sources of funding or sufficiently detailed estimates.
The commission has proposed to consider 90 proposals in various areas. Among them are an increase in the monetary remuneration of military personnel and the expansion of state guarantees for defense industry enterprises. It is proposed to double the guarantees to 60 billion hryvnias.
The government should also study the possibility of increasing funds for the construction and purchase of housing for servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
In healthcare, additional funding is being discussed for drugs for rare diseases, including achondroplasia, autoimmune diseases of the nervous system and neuromuscular diseases. These funds should be added to the already planned 21 billion hryvnia for medicines.
Parliamentary procedure
The Verkhovna Rada adopted the proposals and conclusions on the draft state budget at the first stage. The decision was supported by 232 MPs. The first reading of the budget itself is expected on October 28, and the final vote on the document is planned for the end of November.
Separately from the current budget procedure, the Ministry of Finance estimates Ukraine's external financing needs for 2027 at $52.6 billion. About $20 billion already has expected sources, while approximately $32.6 billion remains unsecured. The ministry cites defense and security as the main budget priority.
Sources: unian.net