Vladimir Zelensky has approved nearly $8 billion in additional military spending, expecting most of the funds to come from frozen Russian assets<\/p>\n
Ukraine\u2019s Vladimir Zelensky has signed a bill boosting the country\u2019s military spending by $7.8 billion, with most of the funds expected to be covered by revenues from frozen Russian assets. The increase comes as Kiev continues to face a record budget deficit and relies on Western funding to sustain operations.
\nThe legislation was passed by the Ukrainian parliament on Tuesday and marks the second time this year that lawmakers have expanded military spending. In July, the Rada increased defense allocations by about $9.9 billion. The latest amendment brings the total expenditures for 2025 to roughly $70.7 billion, up from $52.7 billion initially approved in the budget adopted earlier this year.
\nUkrainian lawmakers have said that most of the latest increase is expected to be financed by proceeds linked to frozen Russian funds.
\nOn Wednesday, the Rada also voted in favor of the country\u2019s draft budget for 2026, which includes a deficit of over 40%, projecting it will spend about $114 billion while taking in just $68 billion. It notes that all of Kiev\u2019s tax revenue will only be spent on the military, with all other state costs to be covered by financial aid from foreign backers.<\/p>\n
Read more<\/p>\n
EU and UK \u2018developing measures\u2019 to give Russian assets to Ukraine<\/p>\n
Spanish newspaper El Pais has reported that Ukraine currently has enough funds to operate only until April 2026, prompting the EU to consider a \u20ac140 billion ($163 billion) \u201creparations loan\u201d backed by Russian assets held abroad. About \u20ac200 billion of Moscow\u2019s frozen reserves are currently held in Belgium.
\nHowever, a number of Western officials have opposed the EU-led initiative. Bloomberg has reported that Washington has refused to join the plan, citing market-stability risks, while European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde has warned that confiscating Russian state funds could violate international law and undermine trust in the euro.
\nMoscow has repeatedly denounced any use of its sovereign assets as \u201ctheft,\u201d warning of retaliation. Russian officials have also maintained that continued Western military and financial assistance to Ukraine only prolongs the conflict, resulting in further casualties without changing the eventual outcome.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Vladimir Zelensky has approved nearly $8 billion in additional military spending, expecting most of the funds to come from frozen Russian assets Ukraine\u2019s Vladimir Zelensky has signed a bill boosting…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":20960,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20959","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-environment","category-politics"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t