Ukraine is in its fifth year of full-scale war, and funding for the security and defense sector remains one of the key tasks for the state. To maintain defense capability, Kyiv is forced to constantly increase spending on the army, procurement of weapons and equipment, including by attracting financial assistance from international partners. Against this backdrop, the actions of some state bodies, which jeopardize industries that continue to steadily fill the budget even during wartime, look particularly contradictory. This concerns, in particular, pressure from the Bureau of Economic Security on the aviation business, which annually pays almost a billion hryvnias in taxes, writes UNN.
Record increase in defense spending
In June, the Verkhovna Rada adopted amendments to the state budget for 2026, which increased funding for the security and defense sector by UAH 1.56 trillion. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed the relevant law, after which the document came into force.
After the amendments, the total volume of defense expenditures in 2026 increased to a record UAH 4.4 trillion.
Of the additionally allocated funds:
- UAH 1.52 trillion goes to the Ministry of Defense;
- UAH 16.7 billion – to bodies of the Ministry of Internal Affairs system;
- UAH 4.8 billion – to the State Service for Special Communications and Information Protection;
- UAH 2.5 billion – to the Security Service of Ukraine;
- UAH 1.8 billion – to the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense;
- another UAH 14.6 billion is directed to the reserve of the security and defense sector.
At the same time, UAH 2.3 trillion will be used for the purchase of weapons and military equipment, and another over UAH 1.45 trillion will go towards the monetary allowance of Ukrainian military personnel.
Such scales of funding once again demonstrate that to be able to repel the enemy, the state is forced to constantly increase defense spending.
Ukraine seeks money from partners
It is obvious that providing such funds solely from its own resources is extremely difficult. That is why Ukraine is actively working with international partners.
The increase in the defense budget became possible after the European Union agreed on a large-scale financial support package for Ukraine.
This concerns a loan amounting to 90 billion euros for 2026–2027, of which 60 billion euros are directed specifically to Ukraine's defense needs.
On June 30, Kyiv received the first tranche of 3.9 billion euros for drones under this Ukraine Support Loan.
"Ukraine's ingenuity is at the core of its success in resisting Russia's full-scale invasion. It is this ingenuity that we want to support. Today we are providing the first 3.9 billion euros for advanced drone technology to strengthen Ukraine's defense. More will follow," – stated European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Subsequent payments will continue to cover the purchase of drones, and will also extend to ammunition, missiles, and air defense systems.
Thus, international partners help Ukraine cover part of the financial needs necessary to continue the war, purchase weapons, and ensure macroeconomic stability. However, even with international assistance, preserving the state's own resource, i.e., tax revenues from Ukrainian businesses, remains critically important.
The aviation industry continues to fund the budget even without an open sky
One example of such resilience during the war is Ukrainian civil aviation. Despite the completely closed airspace over Ukraine, forced relocation abroad, and work under extremely difficult conditions, enterprises in the industry not only preserved their activities but also continue to pay significant taxes.
As reported by the State Tax Service in response to a request from UNN, in 2025 the aviation industry paid UAH 702.23 million to the budget, a record figure for the last eight years.
The largest payers were enterprises engaged in passenger air transportation. They contributed over UAH 526.8 million to the budget.
Another almost UAH 125.7 million was paid by companies involved in aircraft repair and maintenance, and about UAH 49.7 million was provided by cargo aviation enterprises.
The dynamics of revenues, which grow year by year, are also indicative. In 2022, after the start of the full-scale invasion, the industry paid about UAH 297 million. In 2023, this amount increased to UAH 392.6 million, in 2024 – to UAH 515.5 million, and in 2025 a new record was set — over UAH 702 million.
That is, even without the ability to perform flights within Ukraine, aviation enterprises continue to earn money abroad, pay taxes to the Ukrainian budget, and support the country's economy. Economic experts point out that in the post-war period, aviation could become a driver of Ukraine's economic recovery.
"The aviation sector is one of the areas where Ukraine can restore and further develop its leading positions in the global economy. Figuratively speaking, the key directions, the key areas of development of the Ukrainian economy are clearly reflected on the Ukrainian state flag. That is, the blue color is the sky, and what is the sky – it is the aerospace sector, and what is the wheat field – it is the agricultural sector," – believes Chairman of the Committee of Economists of Ukraine Andriy Novak.
In a situation where Ukraine is forced to ask for tens of billions of euros in international aid to finance defense, every enterprise that ensures stable tax revenues acquires strategic importance. At the same time, the actions of individual state bodies demonstrate the opposite approach.
Pressure on the aviation business
Companies that operate under mechanisms used for decades in the global aviation industry have come under pressure from the Bureau of Economic Security. The issue is that the BES is trying to interpret payments by Ukrainian airlines for aircraft leasing from non-residents of Ukraine as royalties, which became the basis for opening criminal cases. From this approach of the law enforcement agency to interpreting the lease of transport as the use of intellectual property, at least 5 airlines have suffered, including MAU, "Aviation Company Constanta", "Urga", N3Operations, and "Skyline".
Lawyers, tax consultants, and attorneys interviewed by UNN have repeatedly emphasized that this position contradicts international conventions on the avoidance of double taxation, provisions of the Tax Code, and established court practice. Moreover, the fact that Ukrainian tax legislation regarding the leasing of aircraft has not changed in the last 30 years leads to conclusions of deliberate pressure on business by the Bureau of Economic Security. After all, the law enforcement officers only developed claims against the activities of a number of airlines after 2024, although nothing changed in the operations of the enterprises.
According to experts, the problem extends far beyond individual criminal proceedings. For businesses that have been operating under extraordinary conditions for the fifth year, additional criminal risks could become the final argument in favor of completely relocating their activities to other jurisdictions.
According to the Executive Director of the Public Union "Ukrainian Air Transport Association" Mykola Shcherbyna, attempts at double taxation of airlines threaten the functioning of the entire civil aviation industry. Because currently it survives thanks to international contracts.
"Uncertainty in the qualification of payments means uncertainty in rates and the right to taxation, and therefore - the risk of double taxation and additional assessments. But even more dangerous is that uncertainty for an international partner is read as a jurisdiction risk. In a competitive market, this is resolved simply: the contract goes to the one with fewer risks and more predictable rules," – emphasized Shcherbyna.
Today, Ukraine is simultaneously waging war, asking international partners for new financial aid packages, and seeking resources to increase its own defense budget. Under such conditions, state policy should be aimed not at creating additional risks for conscientious taxpayers, but at preserving and developing industries that, even during war, ensure stable budget revenues.
If the state loses taxpayers who provide hundreds of millions of hryvnias in budget revenues, the need for external financing will only grow. Figuratively speaking, Ukraine will simultaneously ask partners to finance defense and, through its own decisions, reduce the sources of state budget revenue.