Zelensky signs law to increase state budget by $12 billion for defense expenditures
President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a law on Sept. 20 to increase the state budget by Hr 500 billion ($12 billion) to spend on defense and military needs.
The law aims to finance "urgent measures in the field of security and defense to counter the large-scale armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine," according to an explanatory note on the Ukrainian parliament's website.
Roksolana Pidlasa, the head of the Budget Committee, said that the additional $12 billion would 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 ($306 million) will come from an increase in the excise duty on tobacco and fuel.
The law was approved by Ukraine's parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, on Sept. 18. MP Yaroslav Zhelezniak said afterward that this year's expenditures amounted to a record Hr 3.73 trillion ($89.8 billion).
The draft state budget for 2025 foresees Ukraine's defense spending of Hr 2.2 trillion, which constitutes 26.3% of the country's projected gross domestic product (GDP), according to Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal.
Ukraine's parliament approved on Sept. 17 a bill that proposes a tax increase of Hr 58 billion ($1.4 billion) in 2024 and Hr 137 billion ($3.3 billion) in 2025.
Andrea Januta
