Photo: depositphotos
Ukrainian lawmakers have approved the 2026 state budget despite significant concerns.
On Wednesday, 3 December, the Verkhovna Rada passed the country’s main financial plan for 2026, with 257 MPs voting in favor and 37 against.
Before the vote, Roksolana Pidlasa, head of the Parliamentary Budget Committee, argued that adopting the budget was essential: “If we don’t approve this budget, we will lose the IMF program and the reparation loan. And we will not be able to cover the entire deficit.”
However, not all lawmakers supported the document. MP Yaroslav Zhelezniak explained his “no” vote by highlighting several major gaps:
The 2026 budget includes a 300 billion UAH shortfall for the military compared even with this year.
A 180 billion UAH hole for service members’ salaries.
A $19 billion deficit with no clear understanding of who will cover it.
Earlier, Zhelezniak also wrote: “I don’t understand how, in the fourth year of full-scale war, we can leave such a funding gap in the army. I don’t understand how we can make no attempt for the fourth year to address the minimum salary for service members and leave a 180 billion hole. I don’t understand how, in this financial situation, we can keep the ‘marathon,’ ‘cashback,’ the 1,000-hryvnia handouts, 4 billion for strategic communications, roads, and a bunch of other populist spending.”
