Ukraine’s parliament approves record increase in 2026 defense spending #Ukraine
www.uawire.org
Ukraine is allocating billions of dollars for defense as parliament approves sweeping increases to military spending.
On Wednesday, June 10, the Verkhovna Rada passed amendments to the 2026 state budget in their second and final reading, dramatically boosting funding for the security and defense sector by 1.56 trillion hryvnias.
The decision received support from 242 members of parliament, surpassing the minimum requirement of 226. Nineteen MPs voted against, while 17 abstained.
The changes project that total state budget revenues in 2026 will rise by nearly 2.3 trillion hryvnias, reaching almost 5.2 trillion hryvnias. This increase is being driven by three major sources:
- Financial assistance from the European Union through the Enhanced Cooperation Mechanism, amounting to 2.22 trillion hryvnias;
- Additional revenues as part of the implementation of the EU Ukraine Facility initiative, totaling 47.7 billion hryvnias;
- Increased military payroll taxes (personal income tax) thanks to higher service member compensation, contributing 22.6 billion hryvnias.
At the end of May, lawmakers gave preliminary approval in a first reading to draft law №15224, which aims to ensure financial support for Ukraine's security and defense sector by amending the 2026 state budget.
Earlier in May, the Cabinet of Ministers proposed adding more than 2.2 trillion hryvnias to the 2026 budget, with an extra 1.56 trillion hryvnias allocated specifically to security and defense.
