Ukraine faces $20B gap for active combat operations

Of the existing $27 billion shortfall, Ukraine currently lacks $20 billion to continue active hostilities, including in the first quarter of 2027.

Prime Minister Serhii Koretskyi said this while speaking to journalists, CE Report quotes Ukrinform.

“The shortfall in defense needs this year amounts to $27 billion, of which the government plans to cover about $7 billion through savings, optimization and the reallocation of expenditures. These funds are also intended to cover payments to service members and support for their families. The remaining $20 billion is the subject of negotiations with our partners. Our ability to conduct active hostilities, including in the first quarter of 2027, depends on these funds,” Koretskyi emphasized.

These funds are primarily needed to pay for the production of the necessary weapons, particularly long-range weapons that the army will be able to use this winter, he explained.

“This is our ability to take the war back to where it came from. This is a critical need that must be met,” Koretskyi stressed.

He also separately explained how the shortfall had arisen.

The total “cost” of the war this year amounts to $155 billion. This figure was presented to partners at a Ramstein-format meeting in February 2026 by the then leadership of the Ministry of Defense. It includes both budget funding and off-budget material and equipment assistance from partners.

“Off-budget assistance includes, in particular, missiles, equipment and other weapons that partners provide not in monetary form, but as specific items. For example, these include PAC-2 or PAC-3 missiles for Patriot systems, launchers, aircraft and so on,” Koretskyi noted.

The $155 billion figure was reiterated in the “Financial Strategy” document, which the government submitted to the EU in March 2026 as part of the dialogue on obtaining a Ukraine Support Loan.

And the $27 billion, according to Koretskyi, represents expenditures that remain unfunded as of today and had been planned in advance.

As reported, the budget shortfall of Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense currently stands at $27 billion. At the same time, Ukraine expects €30 billion in European funds to be allocated to defense, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

Photo: Ukraine's Cabinet of Ministers press service