242 members of parliament voted for bill No. 15224, which included in the 2026 state budget half of the credit agreement with the European Union for 90 billion euros — that is, 45 billion euros for the current year. Of these, 31.8 billion euros are directed to the security and defense sector, and another 13.2 billion euros — to cover the budget deficit.
What changed in the figures
Before the amendments, the 2026 budget provided for a deficit of 18.5% of GDP — the largest indicator during the full-scale war. After the changes were approved, revenues increased by 2.291 trillion hryvnias, expenses — by 1.64 trillion hryvnias. According to the Ministry of Finance, this reduces the deficit to 12.1% of GDP. Separately, 40 billion hryvnias will be directed to the Reserve Fund — "for rapid response to unforeseen challenges of wartime," as noted by the Ministry of Finance.
The first tranche — 3.2 billion euros — is expected as early as June. That is, by the end of the first half of the year, the state should receive an amount equivalent to approximately one-third of the annual defense budget in its pre-war scale.
"This year we will receive a loan from the EU — and this allows us to strengthen the state's defense capability"
Finance Minister Sergiy Marchenko, presenting the bill to the Verkhovna Rada
What's behind the figures
Even with an increase in defense spending to 2.8 trillion hryvnias (27.2% of GDP), which accounts for almost 60% of all state expenditures, analysts at KSE Institute point out a structural limitation: the Ministry of Defense budget essentially repeats the current funding volumes of 2025.
"Expansion of the defense forces' capacity is not provided for. New decisions regarding mobilization, salaries, or equipment purchases will require additional financing"
KSE Institute analysis
Yulia Markuts, vice president of KSE Institute for macroeconomics and public finances, in a comment to Reuters, assessed that defense spending may require an upward revision of up to 10 billion euros — depending on how the situation at the front develops. She also reminded that last year Ukraine already increased military spending in the process of budget execution, covering the difference partly through the issuance of government bonds.
- 42.3% of all 2026 budget expenditures are planned to be financed through external revenues
- The IMF estimates Ukraine's external financing needs for 2026–2027 at 135 billion euros
- Expenditures of the Ministry of Veterans Affairs are increasing by 51.5% — to 17.9 billion hryvnias
Key context missing from the bill itself: the agreement with the EU for 90 billion euros is a loan, not a grant. The conditions for repayment of funds after the active phase of the war ends have not yet been detailed publicly — and this is an issue that parliament effectively postponed during the vote.
If the front-line situation forces the government to revise its needs for mobilization or armament already in the second half of the year — will the budget have enough tools to maneuver without a new appeal to external creditors?
