Roksolana Pidlasa, head of Ukraine's parliamentary budget committee, assured on Wednesday that military payouts in autumn 2026 are fully funded and under control.
Speaking on Radio Khartia on August 26, Pidlasa addressed growing concerns over military financing after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy revealed a major defense shortfall. On the eve of Ukraine's Independence Day, Zelenskyy reported that the Ministry of Defense faces a budget deficit of 27 billion dollars, part of which includes soldier salaries and financial aid for families of fallen service members.
When asked by the Radio Khartia presenter whether funding shortages could affect service pay or weapons procurement this autumn, Pidlasa emphasized that paying monetary allowances to military personnel remains a top priority for the government.
Funding sources and reserves
Pidlasa explained that parliament had already taken action to safeguard military pay earlier in the year. In June, the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's unicameral parliament, passed amendments to the 2026 state budget that increased spending on monetary compensation across the Defense Forces by 174 billion hryvnias.
In addition to that allocation, the current national budget contains a dedicated defense reserve amounting to 144 billion hryvnias. Unused funds allocated to other state budget programs can also be reallocated to meet urgent defense requirements whenever necessary, Pidlasa noted.
Addressing the broader Ministry of Defense deficit, Pidlasa stated that military expenditures will continue to grow as long as the active phase of the war continues. Defense spending has increased by nearly 20 percent over the past year as Ukraine maintains its military operations.
Under Ukraine's wartime financial rules, foreign aid from international partners is primarily used to finance non-defense state expenditure, such as public sector salaries and social services. Consequently, the government relies heavily on domestic revenues, internal borrowing, and specialized budget reserves to fund its armed forces directly.
Defense spending growth
To illustrate the rising financial demands, Pidlasa provided figures comparing overall defense spending totals over recent years. During the first seven months of 2025, from January through July, Ukraine spent 1.357 trillion hryvnias on defense. Over the same seven-month period in 2026, military spending rose to 1.627 trillion hryvnias.
Mid-year budget revisions have become standard practice for Ukrainian lawmakers to ensure continuous funding for the armed forces during the conflict. The parliamentary budget committee plays a central role in evaluating state revenue performance and drafting these mid-year funding adjustments.
During 2025, parliament was forced to revise the state budget twice to cover escalating defense costs. Lawmakers increased the defense budget by 412 billion hryvnias at the end of July 2025, followed by an additional increase of 325 billion hryvnias in October of that year.
Budget adjustments and outlook
Official budget data shows that overall cash expenditures from the general fund of the state budget reached 1.35 trillion hryvnias between January and April 2026. That total represents a 13.8 percent increase compared to the corresponding period in 2025.
Security and defense spending dominated state outflows in early 2026. From the start of the year through May, defense and security expenditures reached 854.1 billion hryvnias, accounting for 63.3 percent of all general fund state budget spending.
The broader fiscal situation for the current year remains supported by external financial commitments. At the end of June, Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko stated that Ukraine's state budget requirements for 2026 are fully covered through support from international partners. However, Marchenko cautioned that foreign funding for the 2027 fiscal year has not yet been secured.
