A few weeks ago, Mustafa Nayem warned: without money for roads, Ukraine faces complications in military logistics and exports. He was fired then. Now the Verkhovna Rada is returning to the same topic — but cautiously, with a one-year delay and only at a quarter of the needed amount.
What the committee decided
The Budget Committee of the Verkhovna Rada recommended that deputies, when considering amendments to the 2026 state budget, instruct the government to restore the Road Fund — but not now, but from 2027 onwards and only at 25% of the standard funding level. This was announced by committee chair Roksolana Pidlasa.
«The committee recommended... instructing the government to restore the Road Fund in 2027 at 25% level»
Roksolana Pidlasa, Chair of the VR Budget Committee
For comparison: before the freeze, the fund received 170–200 billion hryvnia annually — primarily from excise taxes on fuel and vehicles. 25% of this amount is approximately 40–50 billion hryvnia, which is significantly less, but already allows for planning rather than patching holes from the reserve fund.
Three years without a plan
The Road Fund became operational in 2018 and for the first time gave contractors a planning horizon of 5–10 years instead of seasonal pothole repairs. With the start of the full-scale invasion, the fund's resources were completely redirected to defense. Since then, the government has financed emergency road work through the reserve fund — an instrument without strategy or transparency.
The consequences became apparent after the winter of 2025–2026, when road conditions deteriorated sharply. According to Liga.net, it was then that the idea of restoring the fund found support in the Verkhovna Rada — following a meeting of the transportation committee in February 2026.
Why «25%» is more than just a number
Head of Zhytomyr Regional State Administration Vitaliy Sukhomlyn explained the logic of the compromise:
«I'm not saying to restore it with the current funding — 170–200 billion. Those are enormous resources, and they're needed for other purposes today. But the instrument itself — it's necessary»
Vitaliy Sukhomlyn
The key distinction of the proposal is not the amount, but the restoration of the mechanism: targeted, predictable funding instead of situational decisions. The absence of this mechanism in 2024 was one of the official reasons for Mustafa Nayem's dismissal from the position of head of the Recovery Agency.
What's next
The committee's recommendation is an instruction to the government, not a guarantee. The Verkhovna Rada must vote on amendments to the 2026 budget in the second reading and as a whole; consideration is expected on June 9. Even if the law is adopted, the government will have its own space for interpretation: «restore at 25%» without an attached control mechanism leaves the question open.
- The source of fund replenishment — excise taxes on fuel and vehicles, which are already being collected
- Targeted allocation of these resources for roads requires a separate Cabinet decision in the 2027 budget draft
- Without legislative consolidation of the share, the instruction may remain merely a declaration
If the government includes 25% of the Road Fund in the 2027 budget draft without a mechanism for targeted use — the committee's decision will become merely a quote in a report, not asphalt on the road.
