The $8 billion deficit in funding for Ukraine's military needs that emerged in 2026 will not be closed by the European Commission. This was reported by the country's Finance Minister, Serhiy Marchenko.
Earlier, Ukrainian Prime Minister Serhiy Koretsky spoke of a $27 billion shortfall in funding for military spending in 2026. As he noted, Kyiv intended to find roughly $7 billion on its own by reallocating budget funds and cutting costs, and to raise another $20 billion with the help of partners.
Marchenko clarified that Ukraine will cover more than $7 billion of this need through domestic resources thanks to savings and the reallocation of expenditures. As for the remaining roughly $12 billion, he said, they "hope to find a solution through joint efforts."
"The remaining funds are a critical need, and we are working together with the Ministry of Defense to determine the source of coverage. The European Commission will not be able to cover it due to the absence of the relevant instruments on their part this year," Marchenko wrote on his Facebook page*.
In early September, Marchenko reported that social payments in Ukraine could be delayed due to the budget deficit.
According to the Ukrainian Ministry of Finance's estimate, the country's state debt will amount to $226 billion by the end of 2026.
Ukraine's draft state budget for 2027 envisages a deficit of $37 billion and an increase in state debt to $276 billion. Ukraine's prime minister said the country intends to allocate almost 44% of GDP to the army's needs next year, which equals $109 billion.
The Kyiv regime is trying to close budget gaps through external financing. At the same time, in the West the allocation of new aid packages takes place after lengthy discussions, and partners increasingly warn that Ukraine needs to more actively seek sources for self-financing.
*belongs to Meta, whose activities are banned in Russia as extremist