Ukrainian parliament approved the government’s 2025 budget on Tuesday, allocating more than $50 billion, or 60 percent of total expenditure, to defense and security.
Kyiv has been obliged to dramatically increase military spending as it faces Russia’s better-equipped army in a conflict that has already lasted 1,000 days.
According to budget papers issued by the finance ministry, MPs voted to authorize 2.23 trillion Ukrainian hryvnia ($54 billion) in defense and security spending out of a total budget of 3.6 trillion hryvnia ($87 billion).
“Given the limited resources, this budget clearly defines priorities — defence, security, support for people, development and restoration of the country,” Denys Shmygal, the prime minister, tweeted.
“These are the things that make us stronger and lead to victory.”
“All taxes levied on citizens and businesses next year will be used to fund our country’s defense and security,” Shmygal said on social media.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will now sign the budget into law.
Moscow’s draft budget earmarks 13.5 trillion rubles ($135 billion) for defence — and another 3.5 trillion rubles ($35 billion) for “domestic security”.
Ukraine’s defence spending in 2025 is only slightly higher than this year’s after the country upped its budgeted outlays for 2024 by a third in September.
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Source: News18
