The Ministry of Finance of Ukraine reported a deficit in financing military needs in 2026

The European Commission will not be able to cover the $8 billion shortfall in financing Ukraine's military needs that emerged in 2026, the country's Finance Minister Sergei Marchenko said.

Earlier, Ukrainian Prime Minister Sergei Koretsky announced a shortage of $27 billion to finance military spending in 2026. According to him, Kyiv expected to independently find about 7 billion dollars by redistributing budget funds and cutting costs, and receive the remaining 20 billion with the help of partners.

As Marchenko said, Ukraine will cover more than $7 billion of this need from internal resources through savings and redistribution of expenses. Regarding another $12 billion, he said, “they expect to find a solution through joint efforts.”

“The remaining funds are a critical need, and we are working together with the Ministry of Defense to determine the source of coverage. The European Commission will not be able to cover it due to their lack of appropriate tools this year,” Marchenko wrote on his page on the social network Facebook*.

In early September, Marchenko reported that delays in social payments may begin in Ukraine due to the budget deficit.

According to the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine, the country's public debt will reach $226 billion by the end of 2026.

Ukraine's draft state budget for 2027 assumes a deficit of $37 billion and an increase in public debt up to $276 billion. The Prime Minister of Ukraine said that next year the country plans to spend almost 44% of GDP on the needs of the army, which amounts to $109 billion.