There is not enough money in budget to pay salaries, - Finance Minister Marchenko
Ukraine’s financial situation is now at its most critical point since the start of the major war with Russia in 2022.
According to Censor.NET, Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko spoke about this in an interview with Euronews.
Payments may be delayed
According to him, the focus on military spending and arms procurement could affect other areas of the budget, and payments may be delayed if no solution is found.
"We are already seeing some liquidity issues, and we are anticipating a certain deficit in our budget. This means that we may have to postpone some non-war-related payments due to a lack of liquidity. There will be consequences," said Marchenko.
According to him, the impact may be felt at local level, particularly when it comes to the construction of shelters and infrastructure.
We are approaching the 2022 scenario
"We haven’t faced such a situation since 2022; we really did suffer from a lack of liquidity. We are now getting far too close to the same scenario as in 2022," added Marchenko.
As Marchenko explained, work is currently underway on a new budget, based on the assumption that the war will continue into 2027, with an estimated funding shortfall of $32.6 billion that needs to be covered.
"The war has escalated very rapidly. We are well aware of this ourselves. This is a completely different reality compared to last month (July – ed.), with the recent attacks on our logistics. We are expecting a very difficult winter. This escalation means that we must find the means to get through it," the minister emphasised.
Ukraine is counting on help from its partners
At the same time, Marchenko called on European ministers to consider possible solutions and examine Ukraine’s new plan for utilising approximately $300 billion in frozen Russian assets.
The plan was rejected by European Union ministers last December as they sought to resolve their differences. Instead, they agreed to jointly finance a loan of 90 billion euros.
