Funds to cover $27 billion in expenditure have not yet been found, - Koretskyi
The Prime Minister of Ukraine, Serhii Koretskyi, has stated that the $27 billion shortfall in military expenditure forms part of Ukraine’s total funding requirements of $155 billion.
According to Censor.NET, he made this statement during a national telethon.
Ukraine identified its needs at $155 billion at the start of the year
According to the Prime Minister, in February 2026, during the ‘Ramstein’ meeting, Ukraine announced that it required $155 billion to wage the war.
This sum includes expenditure provided for in the state budget, as well as military aid from partners. This refers to aid provided not in the form of money, but directly in the form of weapons and equipment.
In particular, partners are supplying missiles for Patriot systems, launchers, aircraft and other logistical resources.
"So, $27 billion is included in this $155 billion. The other issue is that, despite our joint efforts, we have not yet found a way to cover these costs. This is not news; it is not additional funding; it is what Ukraine was talking about at the start of this year," explained Koretskyi.
Part of the funding is planned to be found through savings
Koretskyi noted that around 7 billion dollars are planned to be covered through savings, optimisation and the internal reallocation of funds.
According to him, there are currently outstanding payments for road repairs. There are also outstanding payments and new works under the ‘Resilience Plans’, the funding for which has been suspended.
In addition, funding for a number of cultural programmes has been suspended.
Koretskyi had previously stated that part of the funds would be sought domestically, whilst the rest would be requested from partners.
Background
- Earlier, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy informed European partners of Ukraine’s additional funding requirement of $27 billion by the end of the year.
- Roksolana Pidlasa, Chair of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Budgetary Matters, reported that, due to problems with the receipt of international funding, the Ministry of Finance had deferred to December part of the capital expenditure planned for September–November. This relates, in particular, to funds for protecting the energy sector and preparing for winter.
- From September alone, 39 billion hryvnias in capital expenditure was carried over to the end of the year. At the same time, the government continues to fund social benefits and salaries for public sector employees.
- Ukraine had expected to attract $50.8 billion in international funding for 2026, but due to delays in meeting the relevant requirements, it had received around $21 billion as of mid-September.
