The media reported that the Fighters of the Armed Forces would remain without salaries: in the Ministry of Finance reacted
According to journalists, referring to their own sources, since the beginning of the year, the Ministry of Defense has already exceeded the planned expenses, in particular through the purchase of ammunition, for which they began to use funds that had to go to the military. Soon the government and parliament will have to amend the Law on the State Budget for 2025. The amount of these changes can exceed hundreds of billion hryvnias.
Otherwise, by the end of the year there may be problems with the military. Last year, the situation was similar when a shortage of funds for defense reached half a trillion hryvnia, and to cover this shortage, Parliament was forced to make a decision to increase taxes. The budget for 2025 provides for the Ministry of Defense 1,568 trillion UAH, which is only UAH 31 billion more than the previous year.
It is an approximate limit of economics opportunities to finance military needs during the war, and last year the government has increased taxes to reach this limit. But, according to journalists, even this amount may not be enough. According to the first three months of 2025, the Ministry of Defense increases expenditures, which can lead to a shortage of funds for payments to the military at the end of the year.
Increasing expenditures is a way to finance the exceeding of the Ministry of Defense's expenses at the expense of the funds provided for future periods. This does not require changes to the budget, although at the end of the year, payment to the military may be at risk. According to information from the interlocutors in the government, state defense expenditures in the first quarter of 2025 have already exceeded UAH 200 billion, most of which were for the purchase of ammunition and other weapons.
The EP addressed the Ministry of Defense for comment, but the answer was not received at the time of the publication. However, there is a real threat that in the last months of the year the funds for payment of the military will not be enough. In order to avoid this, the Government and Parliament should be amended to the budget that should be included in August so that there are enough money in September.
This is not the first time in Ukraine increases defensive expenditures in the middle of a year. The government is revising the defense budget every year with the beginning of the Great War. In 2024, there was a need to increase costs due to lack of military assistance from the United States in the middle of the year. A similar situation has arisen that the US can reduce weapons or even make Ukraine sit at the negotiation table.
Therefore, the military command decided to increase the volume of ammunition purchases at its own expense to be less dependent on US decisions. At the same time, despite the restart of the defense procurement agency, there is doubt about the efficiency of its work. Problems with corruption and inefficient contracts that have led to losses continue to worry.
Like last year, the government plans to cover an increase in expenditures by exceeding the budget revenue plan and increasing internal borrowings. It is not planned to increase taxes to finance war. However, the question remains whether this is enough to cover all the needs of defense, and whether there will be enough money by the end of the year will depend on the development of the situation at the front and in the international arena.
It should be noted that shortly after the publication of this information, the Ministry of Finance officially reported that the Ukrainian military would receive salaries according to the plan: the state budget for 2025 has funds. "Financing of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is an undeniable priority for the Ministry of Finance. At the same time, the media has reported a lack of funds. For more than three years of a full -scale war, all payments to the military have been made in time and in full.
It will continue to receive and will receive a year of Ukraine. Ministry of Finance. The ministry noted that the information that the media spread about the alleged threat of payments was not true. It should be reminded that a one -time payment of one million hryvnias will be able to receive not only the contractors of the Armed Forces of Ukraine aged 18 to 24 years, but also servicemen of the National Guard of Ukraine and the State Border Service.