Marchenko warned about Ukraine's toughest budget since the start of the war
Ukraine is facing the most difficult situation with budget liquidity since the start of the full-scale war and may be forced to postpone some non-military spending if partners do not provide additional funding. The preliminary uncovered need of the state budget for 2027 amounts to $32.6 billion.
Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko said this in an interview with Euronews. According to him, the priority is now given to defense financing and weapons procurement, so if external support is insufficient, pressure could increase on other state budget items.
Marchenko said that the Ministry of Finance is already recording liquidity problems and expects a shortage of funds. In that case, the state, according to him, will have to postpone some payments not directly related to the war.
At the same time, the minister stressed that possible difficulties should not affect payments to external creditors. The consequences may first of all manifest themselves at the local level — in particular, in financing the construction of shelters and infrastructure facilities.
According to Marchenko, Ukraine has not experienced such a tense situation with budget liquidity since 2022, when an acute shortage of resources arose after the start of the full-scale invasion.
$32.6 billion is missing for 2027
The Ministry of Finance is forming the budget for 2027 based on the assumption that the war will continue. Ukraine's basic annual need for external financing is estimated at about $50 billion, and the preliminary uncovered need specifically for 2027 is $32.6 billion.
Marchenko noted that the International Monetary Fund, whose representatives worked in Kyiv this week on the parameters of next year's budget, operates with comparable estimates.
Earlier, the Ministry of Finance estimated Ukraine's total need for external financing in 2026–2029 at $145.9 billion. The need directly for 2027 was about $45.3 billion, but part of this amount is already secured or expected from international partners.
According to the minister, the situation was further complicated by a sharp intensification of Russian attacks in August. He separately pointed to strikes on logistics and warned that Ukraine is preparing for a very difficult winter.
Kyiv again proposes using Russian assets
Amid the financing shortage, Ukraine is calling on EU countries to return to the issue of using approximately $300 billion of frozen Russian state assets.
Marchenko said that European governments need to look for unconventional solutions. One of the options proposed by Kyiv involves changing the mechanism for holding Russian assets — transferring the relevant functions from the Belgian jurisdiction to the level of the European Union.
According to the Ukrainian side's plan, this would allow distributing potential legal risks among all 27 EU countries, rather than leaving them mainly on Belgium and the Euroclear depository, where a significant part of frozen Russian funds is stored.
The EU's attempt to agree on broader use of Russian assets last year did not receive support due to legal risks and objections from a number of countries. Instead, European leaders agreed on a credit mechanism for Ukraine, the Ukraine Support Loan totaling up to €90 billion for 2026–2027.
Of this amount, approximately €30 billion is designated for economic and budgetary support, and about €60 billion for defense needs, including investments in the Ukrainian defense industry and weapons procurement.
Marchenko expects that the discussion on Russian assets will become active again in the EU. A group of European states already supports returning to this issue, since the currently agreed instruments may not be sufficient to cover all of Ukraine's needs if the war continues in 2027.
Based on materials from: Euronews, Ministry of Finance of Ukraine
