Populism and election buns: how to close the hole in the defense sector

Source: Author’s Facebook page

This week, the authorities pathetically congratulated the military on Defender’s Day and simultaneously made statements that there is a 300 billion UAH hole in the defense budget.

It is noteworthy that October 1 was the deadline for submitting amendments to the budget for the next year, in which the Government did not take into account the urgent needs of the military, budgeting errors for 25 years, and which envisages a huge underfunding of the security sector.

My colleagues and I have prepared amendments that we will insist on. We propose to reallocate billions of hryvnias from populist and propagandist cashbacks, marathons, and strategic communications to air defense, drones, electronic warfare, modernization of military equipment, and provision of brigades.

We propose to redirect expenditures from the following budget programs to the Defense Forces:

• 6 billion for road repairs. Everyone saw how roads were repaired in Kostyantynivka and Pokrovsk during the war, although it would have been better to buy UAVs and weapons for units fighting in that extremely difficult direction;

• 1.5 billion – from the telethon; another 4 billion – from strategic communications, because it’s all about Bankova’s propaganda;

• 6 billion – from public investment projects of the Ministry of Community and Territorial Development. Investments will not come under bombs and missiles, Ukrainian territories must first be protected;

We insist on sequestering the budget for 2025 to close the hole in the defense sector. And we advocate a professional approach to forming the budget for 2026, where the government is once again investing billions in populism and pre-election buns.

We are categorically against billions from the Reserve Fund going to cashback and “war crimes.” The country needs modern weapons, anti-shahid programs, and effective drones, not just any drones.

We insist on personal income tax directly to teams (at least 20%) who know how to effectively manage their own funds.

Next week, the budget committee will consider proposals for the draft budget. We will definitely participate in it and will insist on a live broadcast of the committee meeting.

Remember how the servants came to power with the slogan “they steal your money.” So now, during these 4 years of a terrible war, they are stealing from the Army, and this is the scariest thing.

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