2023-11-29 17:26:15
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj has signed the 2024 state budget of the country aspiring to join the EU and NATO, with billions spent on armaments. The defense budget of the equivalent of more than 40 billion euros accounts for around half of the total budget expenditure. “It is obvious that protection against Russian aggression is a priority,” said Zelensky in his video message broadcast in Kiev on Tuesday evening. At the same time, he emphasized that the leadership will also take into account the “social needs of our people and fulfill the country’s social obligations.”
Despite the war, it is important that citizens are supported by the state, said Zelensky. According to the budget, defense spending clearly has priority. For example, to defend against the Russian war of aggression, 43 billion hryvnias (1.08 billion euros) are earmarked for the production of drones and the same amount for the production of ammunition and weapons, according to the budget published on the parliamentary website.
The expenses for this will come from own income from taxes, customs duties and dividends from state-owned companies as well as from privatizations, as media in Kiev reported. As was the case this year, around half of the estimated total budget expenditure of around 84.08 billion euros will be financed by taking on debt. The country, which has been economically weakened by the war, expects revenue of the equivalent of around 44.37 billion euros in the coming year, almost all of which will be spent on defense.
For comparison: Russia is planning to increase its military budget to almost a third of the total budget as part of its war of aggression against neighboring Ukraine. The defense budget for 2024 will rise to the equivalent of almost 107 billion francs, almost three times the Ukrainian expenditure. Overall, Russian budget spending next year is planned to amount to almost 363 billion francs.
According to Ukrainian media, the budget for 2024 also provides for an increase in the minimum wage from the equivalent of 170 euros to up to 200 euros per month. At the same time, the country expects – as this year – economic growth of around 4.6 percent.
However, since the start of the Russian invasion in February 2022, the Ukrainian state budget has been more dependent on Western support than ever before. The 2023 budget was financed from abroad with the equivalent of a good 38 billion euros. This corresponds to around 60 percent of the total budget.
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