Imagine a bill that grows every day while your salary falls. That's exactly the situation Ukraine finds itself in: one day of war in 2024 cost $140 million, and now it costs $190 million. This was revealed by Roksolana Pidlasa, head of the budget committee of the Verkhovna Rada, at the Yalta European Strategy (YES) forum, according to LIGA.net correspondent.
"War is becoming more expensive. In 2024, when I spoke at YES, one day of war cost $140 million. This year it costs $190 million," she said.
Where does the increase come from
The arithmetic is simple yet relentless. Inflation erodes the purchasing power of every hryvnia or dollar allocated for defense. The army is growing in numbers, and therefore so are the costs of maintenance, supplies, and wages. Long-range weapons, which are increasingly needed, cost more than traditional arms. And there's a separate line item in expenses that was smaller two years ago — support for the families of the killed and wounded, whose numbers, unfortunately, only keep growing.
According to Pidlasa, the combination of these factors has led to Ukraine no longer being able to fully cover its own share of military expenses on its own, as it did before.
A practical blow to the treasury
Parallel to rising expenses, revenues are declining. In the first eight months of the year, the budget fell short by $1.35 billion compared to expectations, with a quarter of this shortfall occurring in August alone. This is no coincidence or seasonal downturn.
"The main reason for this is that Russia deliberately attacks industries that generate budget revenue: the grain corridor, seaports, and metallurgical plants. And these are not things that can be quickly restored," Pidlasa stated.
Here lies an unexpected angle: strikes on ports or plants are not just about destroyed infrastructure or business logistics problems. It is a direct blow to the state's ability to finance its own defense. Grain traders and metallurgists pay taxes that go toward military salaries and weapons purchases — and when a plant sits idle and a port is blocked, the chain from export to the front breaks.
What comes next
The defense budget deficit has already reached $27 billion. Prime Minister Sergiy Koretskyi recently acknowledged the rising cost of war as one of the reasons the government reported searching for 70 billion hryvnia in savings to redirect to defense, and Finance Minister Sergiy Marchenko confirmed: the state is already forced to limit spending due to delays in international financial aid.
The question is not whether Ukraine will handle the current bill — the question is what will happen if the enemy continues to systematically destroy the very industries that feed the budget faster than partners can close the gap with external financing.
