Months of political deadlock in the US Congress over a $60bn aid package for Ukraine has left Kyiv desperately looking for alternative donors to fund its war effort against Russia and avert swingeing cuts to public spending.
Ukraine has allocated nearly half of its $87bn budget for this year to defence-related expenditure, but its domestic revenues are just $46bn, meaning it needs to cover the gap with help from international partners and by reducing its non-military spending. The deficit is set to be further widened by an expected wave of up to 500,000 recruits, with billions more needed for their salaries, training and equipment.
“We have pretty much reached our capacities — all the internal resources are being used to finance the army,” said Roksolana Pidlasa, chair of Ukraine’s parliamentary budget committee.