Billions for the army: what the authorities are hiding behind their loud statements

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Today, the authorities are celebrating “an additional 1.5 trillion hryvnias for security and defense,” and they will be talking about it from all angles. But this is not new or additional money for the army.

These are funds that were potentially included in the budget as revenues from the European Union’s loan support. Their inclusion in the budget is not a special achievement. Moreover, the Minister of Defense admits that even these funds will not be enough by the end of the year….

And behind loud statements they are trying to hide another decision: ‼40 billion hryvnias, earmarked for the purchase of weapons for the Defense Forces of Ukraine, were withdrawn from the budget of the Ministry of Defense.‼

Think about it – forty billion hryvnias were taken from the army and transferred to the reserve fund.

At a time when the front needs more weapons, more ammunition, and more opportunities for our defenders, the authorities reserve the right to dispose of these funds in manual mode for populist whims and throwing dust in the eyes of society!

European Solidarity demanded one thing: to leave these 40 billion hryvnias where they are needed most — in the budget of the Ministry of Defense for the purchase of weapons.

But this amendment was ignored.

That’s why we voted against these bogus changes to the budget.

During war, the true priority of defense is not measured by the loud numbers in press releases or the victorious reports from the podium. It is measured by the state’s willingness to leave every possible hryvnia where it brings victory closer.

And when 40 billion hryvnias are taken from weapons for the army, and then they talk about record support for defense, it’s no longer about state security. It’s about political manipulation.

On the eve of the Eurosolidarity MPs, they stated that the authorities spent the funds from the Reserve Fund for 2026 during the first quarter, and now decided to get into the pocket of the defense budget , withdrawing UAH 40 billion from it. At the same time, the MPs emphasize, the funds from the Reserve Fund were spent not on reconstruction needs, but on cashback and other populist initiatives.

In addition, the People’s Deputy of Ukraine from the European Solidarity faction, Nina Yuzhanina, reported that there was no real increase in the internal financing of the Ministry of Defense . Instead, the authorities redistributed European loan funds and cut their own defense capabilities by a huge amount.

As a reminder, the government decided to withdraw 40 billion hryvnias from the Defense Ministry’s budget , which were planned to be spent on the purchase of weapons from its own revenues. However, these plans are now under threat, despite the Cabinet’s promises to replace financing with loans.

In addition, experts express concern over the actions of the Cabinet of Ministers, which is engaged in “ questionable redistribution of funds ” between budget items. In particular, it is about the withdrawal of 40 billion hryvnias from the defense sector to the reserve fund, which may stop the increase in military salaries.

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