Ukraine approves $14.5B budget hike for more defense spending
$14B will be channeled for military needs such as buying equipment, including drones, says official
ISTANBUL
Ukraine’s parliament on Tuesday approved an amendment to raise the 2023 state budget by 537.2 billion Ukrainian hryvnia ($14.5 billion).
As the war with Russia rages on, a total of 96.5% of the increase will be directed to the security and defense sector, said Roksolana Pidlasa, head of the parliamentary committee on budget issues.
She said 518 billion Ukrainian hryvnia ($14 billion) will be channeled for military needs such as cash support, food, and production and purchase of special equipment, including unmanned aerial vehicles.
Another 19 billion Ukrainian hryvnia ($514.5 million) will be used to replenish the budget’s reserve fund, which is used for “unforeseen and urgent measures,” Pidlasa said in a Facebook post.
Money from the reserve fund will “be used, in particular, for the payment of one-time monetary assistance to the families of fallen servicemen … and for the construction of fortifications,” she said.
The amendment will be formalized after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s approval, the lawmaker added.
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