Ukraine's parliament votes to adopt 2026 budget
Ukraine’s parliament voted to adopt its budget for 2026, which hinges on an injection of aid — still being debated in Europe.
The budget foresees Hr 4.8 trillion ($115 billion) in expenditures and Hr 2.9 trillion ($70 billion) in revenues — meaning a deficit of 18.5% of GDP, according to Kyiv-based think tank Center for Economic Strategy (CES).
But the plan is predicated on receiving additional funding from allies. Ukraine needs $160 billion in additional combined financial and military support in 2026–2027 according to EU estimates, and is set to run out of cash by mid–2026.
The vote, passed by 257 votes to 37 against, comes as European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen unveiled a plan on Dec. 3 to send 90 billion euros ($105 billion) to Ukraine to help keep the country's finances afloat in 2026–27.
Funding from other allies and initiatives already in the pipeline, such as the ERA loans from the interest on Russian assets, will cover part of the remaining gap.
Ukraine spends most of its own revenues on the military and relies on aid to pay for civilian expenditures, and additional military support.
The budget as passed today is very likely to be revised in 2026, according to Serhiy Fursa, deputy of Ukrainian investment fund Dragon Capital.
"The financing needs for the Ukrainian military is much bigger than is currently carved out in the budget," Fursa told the Kyiv Independent.
In 2025, the budget was revised three times to increase funding for defense, raising spending in hryvnia by 17% compared to the originally planned budget, according to Kyiv Independent calculations.
Passing the budget is a key step towards securing a loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which reached a staff–level agreement for a $8.1 billion loan.
Now that the budget is passed, the major obstacle remaining to the IMF board signing off on the program is that Ukraine secures financing guarantees from allies to cover the hole in its finances.
European leaders will likely decide on which financing option they will pursue at a summit on Dec 18–19.
