Ukraine seeks $150b for 2026 defence as war drags on
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Ukrainian servicemen carrying munitions on the front line in Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region on Sept 5.
PHOTO: EPA
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- Ukraine needs at least US$120 billion for defence in 2026 to maintain its defence, produce weapons, and protect its skies against Russian aggression.
- Ukraine spends over 31% of its GDP on its army; war costs rise, with a day costing US$172 million in 2025 versus US$140 million in 2024.
- With no diplomatic solutions, Ukraine requires continuous funding amid escalating conflict, as demonstrated by recent airspace violations.
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KYIV - Ukraine will need at least US$120 billion (S$150 billion) for its defence in 2026 as the war with Russia drags on into its fourth year, Defence Minister Denys Shmyhal said on Sept 13.
Mr Shmyhal said the funding was essential to maintain defence lines, produce more drones and other weapons, protect skies, and deter any further Russian aggression.
“The economy of the war demonstrates that if we spend less money than Russia, then we begin paying with our territories and, most importantly, with our lives,” Mr Shmyhal told an annual conference in Kyiv.
Ukraine’s defence spending shot up following Russia’s invasion in February 2022, and it now spends more than 31 per cent of its gross domestic product on its army. This year’s state budget plans at least US$63 billion in defence spending, plus in-kind weapons from Kyiv’s Western allies.
Ms Roksolana Pidlasa, the head of the parliamentary budget committee, said that the costs of the war kept rising.
She said that in 2025, a day of the war cost US$172 million compared with about US$140 million in 2024. That included soldiers’ wages, weapons, and payments to those injured or killed on the battlefield, she said.
“So we need to fundraise all the needed sources, all the needed money.”
While no details of additional funding sources have been specified, Ukrainian government officials have appealed to allies to find ways to use Russian frozen assets to help Kyiv’s finances.
The war with Russia has heated up in recent months, with fierce fighting raging along more than 1,000km of the front line and Russian troops ramping up their air attacks on Ukrainian cities and towns far behind it.
Diplomatic efforts to end the war have brought no tangible results as yet.
This week, tensions reached a new level as Nato fighter jets scrambled to shoot down multiple Russian drones that violated Polish airspace
“Until any diplomatic solution is reached, we will need to keep fighting. And to keep fighting, we need money. And defence has an enormous financial cost,” Ms Pidlasa said. REUTERS
