Draft bill #10038 of September 12, 2023 

Sponsor: the Cabinet of Ministers 

Status: adopted, awaits to be signed by the Speaker and the President 

Who is affected: service members of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, National Guard, and State Border Service, employees of the National Police, Security Service of Ukraine, Main Intelligence Directorate, Foreign Intelligence Service, State Guard Directorate, and Special Communications Service, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Education, and the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine 

Summary of the bill: 

budget-2023 expenditure will be increased by 317 billion UAH 

  • almost 303 billion UAH will be allocated for defense needs: 
    • 195.7 billion UAH — for the Armed Forces of Ukraine 
    • 39.7 billion UAH — for the National Guard 
    • 20.4 billion UAH — for the State Border Service 
    • 19 billion UAH — for the National Police 
    • 13.2 billion UAH — for the procurement and modernization of military equipment and weaponry 
    • 4.4 billion UAH — for the Ministry of Strategic Industries to produce weapons and munitions in Ukraine 
    • 4.2 billion UAH — for the Security Service of Ukraine 
    • 2.5 billion UAH — for the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense 
    • 2.1 billion UAH — for the State Special Transport Service of the Ministry of Defense 
    • 570.2 million UAH — for the State Communications Service 
    • 500.7 million UAH — for the Foreign Intelligence Service 
    • 230.5 million UAH — for the State Guard Directorate 
    • 151 million UAH — for rewarding cadets of the Ministry of Internal Affairs 
  • additional funding will be allocated for the following needs: 
    • aid for IDPs — 16.5 billion UAH 
    • 5.97 billion UAH — for “rapid reconstruction” 
    • 1.2 billion UAH — for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (for diplomatic missions in Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, as well as for the representation of Ukraine in lawsuits against Russia in the International Court of the UN and the arbitration tribunals on maritime law) 
    • 552.8 million UAH — for the extra funding to print textbooks for schoolchildren in 5th and 6th grades 

Other expenses will be cut by 11.4 billion UAH, mainly by reducing the cost of servicing the national debt by 10.7 billion UAH. 

What is right: the bill ensures adequate funding for the security and defense sector. This funding is necessary to maintain the upkeep and further strengthening of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, other military units, and law enforcement agencies during wartime. 

What is wrong: deficit of the government budget is constantly growing due to additional defense needs. The Government makes almost no cuts on expenditures in other sectors that could have reduced this deficit to some extent. This leads to an excessive increase in state debt.