Ukraine has signed off on massive military spending plans for next year as the war-torn country allocates yet more resources to defending against the Russian invasion.
Outgunned, outmanned and outspent by Moscow, Kyiv has been forced to ramp up defence spending to support the war effort, with the conflict approaching the three-year mark.
President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday approved Kyiv’s 2025 budget plans that will see more than $50 billion — or 60 percent of all expenditure — go towards defence and security.
“The priority of the budget remains the defence of our state,” Prime Minister Denys Shmygal said in a post on Telegram, confirming Zelensky had signed the budget into law.
A total of 2.23 trillion Ukrainian hryvnia ($54 billion), out of a general budget of 3.6 trillion hryvnia ($87 billion) will go towards defence and security, according to budget documents published by the finance ministry.
That covers payments for soldiers as well as arms production.
In a sign of the challenge faced by Kyiv in funding the war, Russia plans to spend more than double that amount on its own defence and security next year.
A total of 2.23 trillion Ukrainian hryvnia ($54 billion), out of a general budget of 3.6 trillion hryvnia ($87 billion) will go towards defence and security, according to budget documents published by the finance ministry.
That covers payments for soldiers as well as arms production.
In a sign of the challenge faced by Kyiv in funding the war, Russia plans to spend more than double that amount on its own defence and security next year.
In addition to its own military outlays, Ukraine also receives tens of billions of dollars in direct military and humanitarian aid from its Western partners to plug the gap with Moscow’s resources.
Donald Trump’s victory in the US election has thrown that support into question, raising concerns in Kyiv about whether it can continue fighting Russia’s advancing army without Washington’s aid.
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