Ukraine still needs 500 billion hryvnias to meet military needs in 2024- Denys Shmyhal
Source: Radio Svoboda
Ukraine’s 2024 budget faces a substantial shortfall of ₴500 billion (approximately $13.5 billion) due to eariler miscalculations about the war’s duration, according to Ukraine’s prime minister Denys Shmyhal. Speaking to Radio Svoboda, he revealed the initial budget planning predicted the conflict would end by the summer of 2024 which leaves the government scrathing their heads about where to get money for this year’s military spending.
The ongoing mobilization efforts will require more funds. Shmyhal said that funding for each soldier amounts to ₴1.2 million ($32,000) annually, explaining the gap in finances as new recruits join the defense forces.
“The ₴500 billion shortfall we are facing is what our military needs to maintain operations through the end of this year,” Shmyhal added. This growing financial demand will factor in when the goverment works on Ukraine’s 2025 budget. The negotiations about next year’s budget are “extraordinary complex” as Ukraine’s partners are not involved in direct funding of the country’s military needs.
Kyiv is exploring various financial avenues with internal borrowing and new military taxes as possible scenarios. The government has also submitted a draft law to the Verkhovna Rada that can allow to seize some ₴50 billion in Russian assets to bridged the gap in the military budget and address other shortfalls.
The Ukrainian prime minister stressed that Ukraine has been financing its military independently which definitely putting a strain on the country’s broader financial strategy.
Amendments to Ukraine’s enforcement proceedings legislation, initiated by the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine, have entered into force. Among other measures, the reform provides for the automated lifting of attachments on bank accounts immediately after debts in enforcement proceedings have been fully settled. The main practical benefit for citizens is the complete elimination of the need to contact an enforcement officer in person and wait for paper decisions once the debt has been paid.
The 157th Separate Mechanized Brigade has received another batch of supplies as part of Rinat Akhmetov’s Steel Front military initiative. This time, the military received seven quad bikes and four mobile shower and bath units.
In my previous column, I wrote about social innovations in Ukraine. Those innovations are part of civic resilience and the democratization of security, which Europe is paying close attention to right now. The EU is trying to work out how to spread responsibility for its own security across society as a whole, rather than leaving it to institutions alone. It is looking for concrete ways to bring ordinary people into the work of defense and resistance.
Petro Poroshenko’s lawyers have appealed to the High Anti-Corruption Court demanding that NABU be obligated to register proceedings regarding the fact of exerting influence on the court and to recognize Petro Poroshenko as a victim in the case of the Deputy Head of the Office of the President, Iryna Mudra, due to her pressure on Supreme Court judges who were considering a lawsuit to overturn sanctions.
Internationally recognized brands and financial institutions should direct capital to Ukraine now, not waiting for the hostilities to end. This was emphasized by Rinat Akhmetov, president of FC Shakhtar, during a working visit to UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, where he met with UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin.