Ukraine's government to redirect $1.6 billion to military – PM Koretskyi

On September 1, Ukraine's Prime Minister Sergii Koretskyi announced that the government intends to redirect 70 billion hryvnias ($1.6 billion) from budget funds not designated for defense spending to the military. In a speech to the Ukrainian parliament, Koretskyi emphasized the introduction of a strict austerity regime for funds unrelated to defense needs.

He assured that essential social responsibilities, such as pension and salary payments, would continue as usual. Koretskyi also highlighted the necessity of applying a principle of maximum cost savings while preparing the 2027 budget draft.

Ukraine's military spending reached its peak in April 2025, surpassing all previous records in the country's history. As of March 2026, Ukraine was ranked 10th globally in defense budget spending for 2025 and demonstrated the fastest growth rate among ranked countries, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) Military Balance 2026 report.

Previously, Bloomberg reported that Ukraine had sufficient funding to cover defense expenditures until June 2026. The government acknowledged in April 2026 that only approximately 10% of the state budget reserve fund remained unspent. On June 10, 2026, the Ukrainian legislature adopted amendments to the 2026 state budget, primarily aimed at increasing spending on the security and defense sector, raising it to 4.4 trillion hryvnias ($99 billion).

Danil Getmantsev, a Ukrainian lawmaker and chairman of parliament's finance committee, stated on September 1, 2026, that Ukraine has additional military funding requirements totaling 23.5 billion euros ($27.2 billion).