VR committee chairperson: Ukraine spends 31% of its GDP on defense—highest in the world

Roksolana Pidlasa, Chairperson of the Budget Committee of the Verkhovna Rada, wrote this in a post on Facebook, according to Ukrinform.

According to her, the cost of defending against Russian invaders continues to rise. Last year, a single day of war cost the Ukrainian budget $140 million. Today, the daily cost of the war with Russia has increased to $172 million.

This figure includes not only salaries for military personnel, ammunition, and weapons, but also financial support for wounded soldiers, families of the missing, and those who have died.

Pidlasa emphasized again that Ukraine is spending 31% of its GDP on defense—the highest rate in the world. She added that the country covers these military expenses through domestic revenues and internal borrowing, but still requires assistance from international partners.

“We aim to secure at least $120 billion for Ukraine’s defense next year. This amount includes funds from the Ukrainian state budget ($60 billion) and military supplies—arms and ammunition—provided through platforms such as Ramstein, PURL, SAFE, the Danish model, and others ($60 billion),” she noted.

Pidlasa also urged international partners to allow direct budgetary support to be used for defense needs. She pointed out that, currently, only the United Kingdom permits its contributions to the Ukrainian budget to be spent on military procurement. Other partners, she said, are encouraged to do the same.

“It would be much easier—and politically more acceptable—to do this using Russian funds rather than EU taxpayers’ money. That’s why the idea of a ‘Reparations Loan,’ announced by the President of the European Commission, or any other plan that helps Ukraine meet its defense needs, is more than appropriate. Everyone keeps saying Russia should pay. Perhaps it’s time to make that happen,” Pidlasa concluded.

As previously reported, Ukraine will receive a new financing instrument from the European Union—the Reparations Loan—which includes special repayment terms. The EU is also accelerating the disbursement of EUR 6 billion under the ERA program.

Photo: Facebook / Roksolana Pidlasa