Zelenskyy approved an increase in the defense budget after a loan from the EU

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a law on financing the security and defense sector and amending the State Budget for 2026, the parliament reported on Monday, writes UNN.

Details

The Law (register №15224) provides for an increase in expenditures on monetary allowances for military personnel and the development of weapons, in particular, through attracting large-scale external assistance from the EU.

The document increases expenditures on the security and defense sector by UAH 1.56 trillion, mainly through financial assistance (Ukraine Support Loan) from the EU.

It provides for the allocation of UAH 40 billion for the implementation of Comprehensive Resilience Plans for regions and individual cities.

In addition, additional funding from the reserve fund is provided: in particular, UAH 559.1 million will be directed to the needs of the energy sector.

Addendum

Earlier, the head of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Budget, Roksolana Pidlasa, reported on social media that the amendments to the 2026 Budget increase expenditures in the following areas:

• +UAH 1.56 trillion for the national security and defense sector, of which:

1. +UAH 1.397 trillion to enhance the state's defense capability and security (this is money that Ukraine will receive under the EU loan this year for defense needs. It is reflected in a new separate program under the special fund).
2. +UAH 152.26 billion to support the Armed Forces of Ukraine (this is mainly monetary allowances).
3. +UAH 14.58 billion - to replenish the reserve of funds for the security and defense sector (a Ministry of Finance program from which they cover priority needs).
4. +UAH 3.15 billion for the development of the defense-industrial complex (special fund funds from increased revenues from the 'military personal income tax').
5. +UAH 2.13 billion for the State Special Transport Service (under the Ministry of Defense).
6. +UAH 9.91 billion for the National Guard (here monetary allowances and weapons together).
7. +UAH 6.79 billion for the State Border Guard Service (similarly).
8. +UAH 4.8 billion for the State Service for Special Communications and Information Protection (drones).
9. +UAH 2.47 billion for the Security Service of Ukraine (mainly monetary allowances).
10. +UAH 1.83 billion for the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense (monetary allowances and weapons).
11. + UAH 7.8 million for the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine.

• the government proposes to allocate +UAH 40 billion for the implementation of comprehensive resilience plans for regions and individual cities (a new budget program of the Ministry for Communities and Territories Development, the distribution of funds under which will be carried out by the government through its decisions);
• the government proposes to increase the reserve fund by UAH 40 billion;
• the revenue side of the budget increases by UAH 2.29 trillion due to:

1. UAH 1.397 trillion - military support under the EU loan.
2. UAH 824.25 billion - budget support under the EU loan.
3. UAH 47.67 billion - EU funds under the Ukraine Facility.
4. UAH 22.62 billion - additional revenues from personal income tax and military levy (due to the growth of total expenditures on salaries of military personnel).

• the government proposes to direct the military levy to the monetary allowances of military personnel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine starting from July 1, 2026;
• it is proposed that in 2026, revenues from export duties on military and dual-use goods be directed to the purchase and production of weapons and monetary allowances for military personnel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

For the second reading, as Pidlasa reported, the budget committee recommended changing a number of things in the government's text and the current Law on the Budget:

• calculate the salary of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine based on a subsistence minimum of UAH 3,328, not UAH 3,028, without increasing the Agency's total expenditures;
• instruct the government to restore the Road Fund in 2027 at 25%;
• reallocate UAH 10 million to the apparatus of the State Fisheries Agency (this is not a salary), without increasing the agency's total expenditures;
• +UAH 559.1 million for the apparatus of the Ministry of Energy, at the expense of the reserve fund;
• +UAH 127.5 million for the liquidation of mines, at the expense of the reserve fund;
• +UAH 46.1 million for the State Energy Supervision Inspectorate, at the expense of the reserve fund;
• +UAH 599.1 million for the State Agency for Exclusion Zone Management, including UAH 525.1 million for the 'Shelter' object, at the expense of the reserve fund;
• reallocate UAH 95 million to the apparatus of the National Committee for Sports of the Disabled, without increasing the total expenditures of the Ministry of Youth and Sports.

Also, according to her, the people's deputies voted for the allocation of UAH 1.4 billion for payments to employees of the Judicial Protection Service.