Ukraine approves $14.5B budget hike for more defense spending

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.