The Verkhovna Rada increased defense spending in the state budget by over UAH 400 billion

The Verkhovna Rada supported, as a basis and in general, draft law No. 13573, which provides for an increase in spending on the defense sector.

This became known from the broadcast of the Verkhovna Rada meeting.

The decision was supported by 332 MPs.

The bill proposes to increase defense spending by UAH 412.3 billion, of which UAH 115 billion will be spent on financial support for servicemen of all Defense Forces. Another UAH 216 billion will be spent on the purchase and production of weapons, military equipment, and drones, and the remaining funds will be spent on other military needs.

The document also provides for a new distribution of income tax (DIT) from August 1, 2025.

This means that 60% will be directed to the Ministry of Defense to purchase drones, weapons, and military equipment (this is an additional 22.4 billion hryvnias for the Ministry of Defense, they have already been taken into account in the total increase). Another 30% will be directed to the State Special Communications Service for drones, and 10% for the needs of the brigades.

The budget balance is ensured by the same sources that were previously provided for in the government bill — Domestic Government Bonds (DGBs) and revenue overruns. These include:

• UAH 184.9 billion from increased funds raised from government bonds;
• UAH 147.5 billion from overfulfillment and expected overfulfillment of the budgetʼs own revenues (primarily personal income tax, income tax, excise duty on imported goods + the National Bank and state-owned companies transferred more than expected);
• UAH 65.1 billion from the reduction in costs for the repayment of government bonds;
• UAH 11.2 billion from a reduction in debt service expenses (interest on borrowed money) — due to exchange rate fluctuations and restructurings.

What preceded

Initially, the Verkhovna Rada planned to make changes to the state budget by supporting bill No. 13439-3, which was adopted in the first reading on July 16. It provided for the allocation of additional funds not only for defense, but also for other sectors.

Among other things, it was proposed that from August 1, 2025, 10% of the income tax, which is currently credited to the Kyiv budget, will be credited to the state budget reserve fund.

However, during political consultations, the Verkhovna Rada decided on July 30 that these changes to the budget could not be considered in the chamber.

For more news and in-depth stories from Ukraine, please follow us on X.