Budget Committee backs 2025 amendments, adding almost US$8 billion for Ukrainian defence

The Budget Committee of Ukraine's Verkhovna Rada (Parliament) has supported amendments to the 2025 state budget, which allocate an additional UAH 325 billion (about US$7.8 billion) for defence.

Source: Roksolana Pidlasa, head of the parliamentary budget committee

Details: Pidlasa called on all MPs to vote for the bill in its entirety today, noting that "by 1–2 November, funds for service members' pay must be transferred to the armed forces."

She stressed that "there have been no delays since the start of the full-scale invasion".

"Bill No. 14103 proposes to increase spending for the national security and defence sector by UAH 324.7 billion (about US$7.77 billion) (not UAH 317 billion (about US$7.58 billion), as reported in the media)," she said.

Of this amount (full list): +UAH 210.9 billion (about US$5.05 billion) – Armed Forces of Ukraine, +UAH 99.1 billion (about US$2.37 billion) – production and procurement of weapons and ammunition for the Armed Forces, +UAH 8.1 billion (about US$194 million) – National Guard.

Also, +UAH 4.3 billion (about US$103 million) – for drone procurement carried out by the State Service of Special Communications, +UAH 1.3 billion (about US$31 million) – for the Security Service of Ukraine, +UAH 918 million (about US$22 million) – for the State Special Transport Service, +UAH 83 million (about US$2 million) – for the State Border Guard Service, +UAH 28.8 million (about US$0.69 million) – for Defence Intelligence of Ukraine, and +UAH 8 million (about US$0.19 million) – for the Foreign Intelligence Service.

The amount is planned to be covered from several sources.

UAH 294.3 billion (about US$7.05 billion) – international assistance (this is €6 billion in ERA loans, a "non-repayable loan" from the European share. Ukraine does not have to return this money and no interest is charged for its use).

Another UAH 10.4 billion (about US$249 million) – reduction of non-military expenditures (the most significant cuts: UAH 6.45 billion (about US$155 million) – expected savings from servicing the public debt, and UAH 3 billion (about US$72 million) – savings on state guarantee obligations that do not need to be paid this year) and almost UAH 1 billion (about US$24 million) from proposals of certain government agencies.

UAH 20 billion (about US$479 million) – expected increase in revenues from personal income tax and the military levy from payments of service members' remuneration in November–December (since the total payroll increases, so do income-tax receipts).

Consideration of these amendments to the 2025 Budget is expected in the Verkhovna Rada today, 21 October.

Background:

• From January to September 2025, total cash expenditures from the general fund of Ukraine's state budget amounted to UAH 2.82 trillion (about US$67.5 billion) – UAH 473.5 billion (about US$11.34 billion) (20.2%) more than during the same period last year.
• The Budget Committee has recommended the 2026 draft budget for its first reading, said Roksolana Pidlasa, head of the Verkhovna Rada's budget committee. In its budget conclusions, the committee proposes that the government introduce a number of amendments to the draft state budget.
• Finance Minister Serhii Marchenko stated that Ukraine's budget will require US$45 billion in external financing to cover debt obligations.
• The Cabinet of Ministers has approved a draft law proposing to increase total expenditure in 2025 by UAH 317 billion (about US$7.58 billion), with the funds directed to the security and defence sector.
• Over the first nine months of 2025, the general fund of the state budget received UAH 1.6 trillion (about US$38.3 billion) in taxes, fees and mandatory payments (excluding international grants). Pidlasa noted that revenues in 2025 were 4.6% (UAH 71.1 billion (about US$1.7 billion)) higher than planned for the reporting period.

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