Ukraine's cabinet submits three more laws to unlock $29.5 billion in foreign financing
Ukraine's Cabinet of Ministers approved and sent to the Verkhovna Rada three additional draft laws needed to attract international financing and cover the state budget deficit, bringing the total submitted since the start of September to eight. Prime Minister Serhiy Koretsky described the budget shortfall as serious and called on MPs across party lines to vote the laws through quickly, with the government aiming to complete all required decisions by November 1.
Key points
- Cabinet approved and sent to the Verkhovna Rada three draft laws on September 9, bringing the September total to eight.
- The three bills concern the National Commission on Securities and Stock Market, Ukrzaliznytsia, and the Higher Qualification Commission of Judges.
- Prime Minister Serhiy Koretsky said the budget deficit situation is serious and called on MPs, regardless of political affiliation, to vote the laws through as soon as possible.
- Ministers were ordered to work through the documents with MPs at the parliamentary committee level without delay.
- Koretsky earlier said Ukraine risks missing a significant portion of $29.5 billion from international partners without joint government–parliament action.
- Getting those funds requires 44 government decisions, 26 laws already submitted, and 17 further draft laws, according to Koretsky.
- The government plans to complete all required decisions by November 1.
Why it matters
The three laws are conditions for unlocking roughly $29.5 billion in external financing from international partners. Failure to pass them in time risks leaving a $27 billion hole in Ukraine's defense and social budgets uncovered at a moment when the cost of the war is rising.
What happened
On September 9, Ukraine's Cabinet of Ministers approved and forwarded to the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament, three draft laws covering the work of the National Commission on Securities and Stock Market, Ukrzaliznytsia (Ukrainian Railways), and the Higher Qualification Commission of Judges. The package is needed to attract international financing and cover the state budget deficit. Together with earlier submissions, the government has now sent eight bills to parliament since the start of September as part of a broader legislative track tied to external assistance. Prime Minister Serhiy Koretsky said the budget shortfall is serious, ordered ministers to work through the documents with MPs at the parliamentary committee level, and urged legislators across party lines to vote the bills through quickly. The government says it aims to complete all required decisions under its plan by November 1.
How international sources describe it
International partners, notably the European Commission, have framed the disbursement of funds as conditional on Ukraine implementing agreed reforms and have linked the EU macro-financial assistance program to the IMF program in Ukraine. The Commission has also warned that failure by the Verkhovna Rada to pass one of the laws required for Ukraine to meet its EU obligations could obstruct a planned €3.7 billion early-autumn payment under macro-financial assistance.
Background
Koretsky said on September 1 that Ukraine faces a $27 billion defense budget deficit driven by the rising cost of the war, and Defense Minister Yevheniy Khmara cited the same figure at his first Ramstein-format meeting on September 8. President Volodymyr Zelensky on August 24 pointed to accelerating disbursements from an agreed €90 billion loan for 2026–2027 as a way to close the gap. The European Commission has stressed that EU macro-financial assistance is tied both to Ukrainian reform implementation and to the IMF program, and has warned that a stalled law could delay an autumn payment.