When the country is going through the worst times in its history, every hryvnia of the state budget should be used to win and save the day. But instead, we are witnessing a blatant parade of absurd spending that looks like a mockery of the people. Billions are being wasted on meaningless projects, while the military at the front need support and people in frontline cities need vital assistance. Who makes these decisions and why? Why, at the most critical moment for the country, are resources not going to the places where they are needed most?
Senseless state spending
Ukrainians demonstrate incredible solidarity and sacrifice every day. Volunteer collections for drones, thermal imagers, body armour and first aid kits have become commonplace, with every hryvnia worth its weight in gold. People are giving their last penny, abandoning their own needs to support the military at the front line. And at the same time, the state spends billions on meaningless projects: building roads in regions where there is no fighting, restoring theatres, and other ‘trendy’ initiatives that look not only unnecessary but also downright cynical.
While Russia is concentrating all its efforts, including financial and managerial ones, to spend money on new technologies that would help turn the situation at the front in its favour, Ukraine has begun to fund many projects developed even before the war, primarily from local budgets. For example, in Kyiv, a street is being completed in the middle of nowhere. This decision was made a week before the full-scale invasion, then frozen, and then construction began again in the spring of 2024. So now the state is busy spending money on expenses that are not fundamentally important during the war. Meanwhile, the enemy is spending money on the war.
Every donation to the Ukrainian Armed Forces is money that is often raised literally one hryvnia at a time. People are selling their belongings, giving up their salaries, giving up their holidays to buy our defenders the equipment they need. At the same time, the government is investing billions in road repairs in relatively quiet regions where few people need these roads. How many of these roads remain unusable after the shelling in the east? Why isn’t the money spent on rebuilding critical infrastructure or helping IDPs who have lost everything?
These projects are presented as ‘development of the country’, but let’s be honest: no repaired roads will save us from the threat if the army is left without support. Moreover, such expenditures look like a deliberate distraction of public attention from real problems. When the military on the front line are raising money for drones, spending billions on asphalt is essentially a betrayal.
We can still recall the scandal surrounding the repair of the Kyiv District Court in Odesa for UAH 106 million.
“We were considering allocating 10 million, we were briefed and discussed the emergency repair of the Kyiv court building. We were promised a photo of the roof, that something needed to be done, that judges could not work there. Then the next day they said that it was a condition for joining NATO, and then it turned out that it was an extension. Only then did we find out what exactly was going to happen there. So, in our opinion, this is inappropriate now. We need to withdraw the ten million and cancel the tender,’ says MP Oleksiy Potapsky.
However, it became ‘inappropriate’ only after the outraged society joined the active discussion of this issue. Shouldn’t the state carefully check all expenditures and direct funding to really important objects for the country’s reconstruction? And not as it happened with the construction of the district court, which had already been repaired four years ago. And then, suddenly, repairs were needed again, and at such an excessive cost, as it turned out in the estimate. Thus, according to the contractor’s cost resources, the most important steel of the periodic profile of class A-III with a diameter of 16-18 mm was taken into account at UAH 59,400 per tonne, which is one and a half times more expensive than the market. In addition, UAH 1.43 million was allocated for insulated steel pipes in a polyethylene sheath. The most important size, 89/160 mm, was priced at UAH 2,265/m. Thus, the likely overpayment for materials could amount to UAH 5.78 million. These funds would be enough to buy four new Mitsubishi L200 pickups.
Recently, the government decided to allocate UAH 463 million to study penguins in Antarctica. In the midst of the war, when every penny should be used to support the army and rebuild the destroyed infrastructure, huge budget funds are being spent on research that can hardly be called urgent.
The study of Antarctic wildlife is certainly interesting and useful for world science. But can it be called a priority for a country that loses its defenders every day and faces catastrophic economic consequences of the war? UAH 463 million is the amount that could be used to buy thousands of bulletproof vests, drones or ambulances. That is, real things that would save lives at the front.
But you see, the state seems to live in a parallel reality. When people donate their last penny, give up their needs and donate to the army, the government continues to fund projects that have nothing to do with the country’s current problems. Even if this programme was launched before the war, its continuation in the current situation looks like a mockery. Many people are wondering whether these funds will really be used to study penguins. After all, such projects are often used as a cover for corruption schemes. Millions allocated for ‘scientific research’ can easily end up in the pockets of officials and contractors. Especially at a time when control over the use of budget funds is weakened due to the war.
As it became known, UAH 463 million is planned to be spent on:
- procurement of material and technical resources;
- fuel and lubricants for the Antarctic station;
- food for the participants of Antarctic expeditions and the Ukrainian Antarctic station ‘Akademik Vernadsky’;
- to ensure the delivery of participants of Ukrainian Antarctic expeditions to the ship, etc.
As it turned out, the scientists had to go on the expedition not just anywhere, but with a lot of delicacies, such as wine, champagne, red caviar, olives and olives.
‘We are not talking about any “excessive consumption” here, this purchase is necessary to provide food for a year,’ the scientists themselves assured.
However, this sounds arrogant and cynical against the backdrop of the fact that many IDP families with children have been left without state support and are forced to survive without being able to provide their children with the most basic necessities.
Even if some of this money is indeed spent on penguin research, can we afford such expenses now? Is it worth spending resources on research when war is on the doorstep of every Ukrainian home? Every day, Ukrainian volunteers and philanthropists do more for the army than some government programmes that continue to be funded in wartime.
Spending hundreds of millions of hryvnias on such ‘exotic’ initiatives in time of war is a real blow to the nation’s morale. When people are united in support of the Armed Forces, when every citizen feels responsible for the country’s defence, such expenditures look like an outright betrayal. Government officials should have long ago reconsidered their priorities and directed all resources to fighting the aggressor, not to studying polar birds.
By the way, the government has extended the Antarctic research at the station until 2025. The programme provides for 93 scientific activities to implement 20 global scientific tasks in seven areas. However, the government is unable to find money to support IDPs in 2025.
Contribution to culture and information policy
The Ministry of Culture once again impresses with its ‘skill’ in managing funds. The Ministry of Culture is so ‘skilful’ at planning its expenditures that 1.3 billion hryvnias remained unused due to the lack of timely decisions to adjust budgets. And who knows how many more ‘cultural projects’ could have been created with this money? So what if the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy (as of 13 September 2024, the Ministry of Culture and Strategic Communications of Ukraine) was supposed to ensure the formation and implementation of state policy? More than half a billion hryvnias for management in this area were used haphazardly and inefficiently, but these are such trifles, aren’t they?
According to the report of the Accounting Chamber published on 29 October, the Ministry of Culture has done its job so ‘successfully’ that it has spent 521.8 million hryvnias on management and administration in the field of culture and information policy – all without any system. It is not surprising that the agency did not fully ensure the formation of state policy, because why strive to achieve the goal of the budget programme if you can just spend money?
Even more interesting: during 2020-2022, the management did not even bother to ensure a continuous planning, monitoring and reporting process.
Reports on the implementation of work plans were never approved by the Minister, which clearly demonstrates the ‘high’ quality of management. Structural subdivisions completed only 40 per cent of the measures to implement the state policy, but this is also probably not worthy of attention.
Another ‘achievement’ is that the specialised structural units were staffed by only 25-60%. And here, of course, they did not forget to pay bonuses for ‘particularly important work’: as much as 58.4 million hryvnias were used ineffectively. Competence? Professionalism? This is too much, because the main thing is to allocate funds correctly.
In addition, huge sums are now being spent on the restoration and construction of cultural facilities such as theatres and parks. There is no doubt that culture is important for national identity, but can it be a priority at a time when the country is struggling to survive? Spending on such projects in the midst of war is not only absurd, but also an outright manipulation aimed at ‘blurring the eyes’ of society. For example, the authorities of Odesa region decided to spend more than UAH 30 million on repairing the facade of the Young Spectator Theatre. Under the slogans of ‘reviving culture’, officials are promoting initiatives that may in fact be a cover for corruption schemes. How to explain the fact that billions are spent on restoration when the frontline lacks equipment and ordinary citizens are forced to literally collect ‘for gullies’? This is not development, but money laundering, which looks especially cynical in the context of the people’s volunteer movement.
The United News telethon is also worth mentioning. It was planned as an important tool of information policy, aimed at informing citizens about reliable information on the situation at the front, negotiations with Western partners, arms supplies and objective coverage of our economy. This year, the state has allocated UAH 1 billion 607 million to produce content for the telethon.
As you know, United News includes 4 private TV channels that received UAH 538 million 146 thousand back in 2023. The cost of one hour of broadcasting for each participant is different and is as follows:
- ‘We Are Ukraine’ – UAH 195.63 thousand.
- “Inter – UAH 124.27 thousand,
- “1+1 – UAH 140.72 thousand.
- “ICTV – UAH 143.21 thousand.
According to the agreement, the channels must comply with the following requirements:
- production of live news programmes;
- production of news programmes in the Ukrainian language;
- ensuring live broadcasts from the studio on a daily basis;
- live broadcasts of experts and journalists from the field, live broadcast of briefings, etc.
Formally, they fulfil these requirements, but in practice, it turns out that the quality of such content is very questionable due to the lack of monitoring and audit by the state. In other words, the money is allocated, and then you do with it what you want. So, along with the news, we have projects like Hidden Corner with 10-minute stories about giraffe faeces that turn into unique accessories, or about a 75-year-old virgin who keeps his virginity from women behind a 4.5-metre fence.
It’s hard to imagine that such lowbrow projects have cost so much money.
Obviously, we have a serious problem with the control of public funds for information security by the Ministry of Culture. After all, it is the Ministry that is supposed to ensure the efficient and targeted use of budget funds, organise and coordinate the work of lower-level budget managers and budget recipients in the budget process. In reality, money is being wasted.
Manipulations during the war
Instead of spending money on the army and helping those affected by the war, the state invests it in projects that have no direct impact on defence capability. It is hard not to see not only manipulation but also classic corruption here. Officials and contractors are profiting from the war, hiding behind alleged strategic needs. While volunteers on social media raise 50-100 hryvnias each to buy equipment for the military, billions of budget money disappear into the pockets of corrupt schemes.
These costs are just the tip of the iceberg. Every day the news reports about new absurd projects that cause anger and misunderstanding in society. However, the most painful issue is the lack of real accountability. Officials who make these decisions often go unpunished because the system does not work in favour of citizens. This situation undermines not only trust in the government, but also the very idea of national solidarity. When people see their recent efforts undermined by senseless public spending, it causes despair and anger. People want to understand that their donations have meaning, that their contribution is a real contribution to victory, not a backdrop for corruption schemes.
The problem is not only that these expenditures are ill-timed. They also show a lack of a clear plan and accountability for the use of public funds. It is quite clear that the money allocated by the state budget for culture, information policy or research cannot simply be redirected from one item to another for defence. But nothing prevented public managers from thinking this through in advance! Effective planning and management of public funds could have been the key to spending every hryvnia wisely. Instead, we see only another chaos in the budget process when it is necessary to direct resources to where they can really save lives and help people.
