The Ministry of Finance believes that increasing payments to the military does not require additional defense funds
Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko said that the state has the opportunity to increase spending on financial support for military personnel performing tasks on the front line, thanks to the redistribution of funds already provided for in the budget for defense. He said this while answering questions from deputies during the consideration of the draft state budget for 2026 year.
According to Marchenko, the financial plan includes 1.3 trillion UAH for payments to the military, and more efficient use of these funds allows for increased support for combat units.
“Today, 1.3 trillion is provided for cash payments (to military personnel – EP). We believe that the effective use of these funds is the key to increasing our capabilities. Redirecting funds to combat units, to those units that provide defense on the front line, can be carried out within the limits of these funds from other areas, he said.
That is, as the minister explained, part of the funding can be redirected to units that maintain defense directly on the front line, without going beyond the general resource.
At the same time, it is emphasized that the amount of financial support for the military has not been reviewed since February 2023. Then the government canceled the general additional payment of UAH 30,000 for all servicemen, introduced at the beginning of the full-scale war, increasing the minimum level of payments to UAH 20,000.
Marchenko also announced the main parameters of the budget for 2026. UAH 2.8 trillion is allocated for the security and defense sector. Total state expenditures are planned at UAH 4.78 trillion, expected revenues are UAH 2.92 trillion, and the deficit, according to the government’s estimate, will amount to 18.5% of GDP.
