{
  "id": 8020198,
  "title": "Kim: US spends $40,000 per year per veteran, Ukraine spends UAH 1,400",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/17/kim-us-spends-40-000-per-year-per-veteran-ukraine-spends-uah-1-400",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-17T12:05:04.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Interfax-Ukraine",
    "slug": "interfax-ukraine",
    "url": "https://en.interfax.com.ua/news/general/1205920.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Vitaliy Kim, the Minister for Veterans Affairs, has expressed concerns that Ukraine's budget for veteran policy is insufficient. During a press conference in Kyiv, Kim highlighted that the United States spends $40,000 per year for each of its 18 million veterans, Canada allocates around $27,000, and Australia provides between $31,000 and $35,000 per veteran. In contrast, dividing Ukraine's veteran budget by the number of veterans results in only UAH 1,400 per year per veteran, which Kim described as entirely inadequate.\n\nKim emphasized that no country has prior experience in successfully implementing veteran policy, describing it as a \"bottomless pit for social investment\" where it will always be insufficient and improvements are always possible. Despite this, Kim stressed that basic services must be provided to veterans and expressed a confident belief that budgets will need to be significantly increased after the war ends, as weapons and the ongoing conflict remain the current priority.\n\nThe draft state budget for 2027 has allocated UAH 3.2 billion, or 17.8%, more funding for the Ministry for Veterans Affairs compared to 2026, specifically reserving UAH 20.8 billion for the ministry's programs.",
  "summary": "Minister for Veterans Affairs Vitaliy Kim believes that after the end of the war, the budget for veteran policy will need to be increased several times over.",
  "key_points": [
    "US spends $40,000 per year per veteran, while Ukraine spends UAH 1,400",
    "Vitaliy Kim criticizes Ukraine's insufficient veteran policy budget",
    "2027 state budget increases Ministry for Veterans Affairs funding by 17.8%"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}