Ukraine is facing a sharp increase in the state budget deficit due to delays in the delivery of Western weapons, which has forced the government to use additional financial resources to purchase weapons. Minister of Finance of Ukraine Serhii Marchenko called on Western partners to speed up the provision of a $50 billion loan to cover military expenses and stabilize the country's financial situation.
Marchenko told the Financial Times that the slow supply of weapons, especially from the United States, contributed to the increase in military spending of the budget by 12 billion dollars (that is, the weapons, which are not enough, were purchased with the funds of the state budget, which was not planned from the beginning).
An increase of $12 billion means that this year Ukraine may record a deficit that, according to other government officials, will amount to slightly less than a quarter of GDP, or $43.5 billion, the publication notes.
In April of this year, Congress approved direct US military aid in the amount of $27 billion, but its distribution, as before, is "slow", said Marchenko.
"We still lack the necessary weapons, ammunition and projectiles," the minister said.
According to him, the current situation means that the country "will not have enough money to pay the salaries of military personnel", and the delays in aid led to the fact that the payments, postponed until the end of 2024, were used to "purchase the necessary weapons and ammunition ” earlier this year.
"Ukraine is in a very vulnerable position," Marchenko said, adding that the $50 billion loan was a "magical solution" that would allow the country to purchase military materials and prevent it from falling into a difficult financial situation that would alarm its creditors. , such as the IMF.
