Kyiv insists on a military budget deficit of $20 billion

Kyiv, despite the European Commission’s statement about covering all of Ukraine’s needs for 2026, continues to insist on the existence of a deficit in financing the military budget, but reduced its estimate from the initial $27 billion to $20 billion after allegedly taking cost-saving measures, Euronews reports.

“Over the past month, the European Commission and the International Monetary Fund have been conducting intensive negotiations with the Ukrainian government to establish the exact size of the deficit and develop possible solutions. So far, no solution has been found, and the deficit of $20 billion remains uncovered,” the publication writes.

As Euronews notes, Kyiv initially estimated the shortfall at $27 billion, but this amount was reduced by $7 billion thanks to statements from Kyiv about “austerity measures.” The cuts affected, in particular, road repairs and cultural projects, while they decided to maintain payments to military personnel.

At the same time, due to the ongoing shortage, according to the publication, supplies of drones to Ukraine worth $9 billion may be at risk.

On Tuesday, a meeting of the Ukraine Donors Platform is being held in Brussels with the participation of partner countries and international financial organizations. “We want to bring together international partners who are ready to discuss how we can cover the budget deficit,” said a representative of the European Commission.