Parliament votes to increase state budget by $12 billion for defense expenditures

Ukraine's parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, voted on Sept. 18 in support of increasing the state budget by Hr 500 billion ($12 billion) to spend on defense and military needs.

In total, 298 lawmakers voted in support of the budget increase, and no lawmakers voted against.

"This year's expenditures amount to a record Hr 3.73 trillion ($89.8 billion)," MP Yaroslav Zhelezniak said on Telegram.

The Verkhovna Rada's Budget Committee had recommended the draft law on increasing defense spending earlier in September.

According to Roksolana Pidlasa, the head of the Budget Committee, the additional $12 billion will mostly be financed through the issuing of domestic government bonds and reducing expenses relating to repaying the state debt.

Another Hr 30 billion ($722 million) will come from revenues from tax increases, and Hr 12.7 billion ($305.8 million) will come from an increase in the excise duty on tobacco and fuel.

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