Defence expenditures in Ukraine will increase, but Ministry of Finance not sure entire sum will be provided

The Cabinet of Ministers will soon again propose to the Verkhovna Rada to increase state budget expenditures this year for the needs of defence and security, but the Ministry of Finance is not sure that it will be possible to meet the entire amount requested by the Ministry of Defence.

Source: Finance Minister Serhii Marchenko, at EBA Global Outlook: The New Economy of Ukraine, an event organised by the European Business Association

Quote from Marchenko: "Soon, we will come out with a change in the budget, where we will increase spending on security and defence." 

The minister told reporters that he is not yet ready to name the final figures in the bill since it has yet to be approved by the Cabinet of Ministers, but he is not sure that the entire amount requested by the Ministry of Defence will be allocated. 

"I am not sure that we will be able to satisfy the entire amount (previously mentioned by Rustem Umierov, Defence Minister – ed.). I don't want to talk about it now because, soon, we will have a Cabinet of Ministers [session] where we fix all this," Marchenko added. 

Background:

Earlier, the newly appointed Defence Minister Rustem Umierov announced the need for additional expenditures of about UAH 250 billion (approx. US$6.77 billion) by the end of the year.

First Deputy Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Finance, Taxes and Сustoms policy Yaroslav Zhelezniak said last week that it is a question of increasing state budget expenditures for 2023, approximately by UAH 300 billion (US$ 8.12 billion).

Earlier, on March 21, 2023, the Verkhovna Rada increased expenditures of the state budget for 2023 by UAH 487 billion (US$13.19 billion), revenues by UAH 61 billion (US$1.65 billion), which led to an increase in the deficit by UAH 419 billion (US$11.34 billion).

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