State budget 2026: Will Ukraine have enough money?

Centre for Economic Strategy (CES) invites you to join the December review of the Ukrainian economy. The special topic of the event is “State Budget 2026: Will Ukraine Have Enough Money?”.

In December, the Verkhovna Rada adopted the 2026 state budget following extensive debates over remuneration for teachers and military personnel.

In 2026, Ukraine will require more than $45 billion to finance public expenditures. Against this backdrop, the EU’s decision to allocate €90 billion in financial support may give the impression that Ukraine’s funding needs have been fully met.

Yet the challenge is not only the scale of assistance, but also the priorities guiding its use. In particular, a direct increase in salaries for military personnel is currently not provided for in either the Ukrainian budget or European policy documents.

How will these funds be spent? What sources will be used to finance expenditures? And how will international assistance be distributed?

We will discuss these topics in detail during the event. The registration is available below.

In addition, CES experts will traditionally review the key changes in Ukraine’s economy over the past month. Previous reports are available on our website, and data visualisations can be found in the “Ukraine War Economy Tracker”.

The event will take place on 22 December at 16:00 (Kyiv time) on Zoom.

Event agenda:

16:00 – 16:05 Opening remarks by the moderator.

16:05 – 16:20 Overview of the Ukrainian economy, CES team.

16:20 – 16:30 Special topic review, Oleksandra Myronenko, Economist at CES.

16:30 – 17:30 Discussion and Q&A. Panelists:

• Olena Bilan, chief economist at Dragon Capital investment company and member of the CES supervisory board.
• Roksolana Pidlasa, chairman of the budget committee of the Verkhovna Rada.
• Nataliia Pipa, secretary of committee on education, science and innovations of the Verkhovna Rada.

Moderator: Hlib Vyshinsky, Executive Director, Centre for Economic Strategy.

The event will be held in Ukrainian with simultaneous English translation.

This event has been funded by UK International Development from the UK government; however, the views expressed do not necessarily reflect the UK government’s official policies.