Ukraine's daily war cost rises to $190 million, budget chief says
Roksolana Pidlasa, head of the Verkhovna Rada budget committee, said at the Yalta European Strategy conference in Kyiv that one day of war now costs Ukraine $190 million — $50 million more than in 2024. She warned that domestic resources are running short of defense needs and that Russian strikes have driven a VAT revenue shortfall.
Key points
- One day of war cost Ukraine $190 million in 2026, up from $140 million in 2024 — a $50 million increase.
- The daily figure excludes weapons supplied by partner countries.
- Pidlasa attributed the rise to inflation, a larger armed forces, more military families receiving state support, and greater demand for weapons including medium- and long-range strike systems.
- Over eight months, Ukraine spent nearly $42 billion on national security and defense, not counting military aid from partners.
- Ukraine raised only about $39 billion from its own resources — budget revenues and domestic borrowings — over the same period.
- The Ministry of Defense has stated an additional $27 billion defense funding need for the rest of 2026, not included in the budget.
- Domestic and imported VAT revenues fell short of the eight-month plan by $1.35 billion, with a quarter of the shortfall lost in August alone.
Why it matters
The figures put a price tag on the war for Ukraine's budget and quantify how fast it is growing: $50 million per day more than two years ago, against a backdrop of an expanding military and rising social obligations. The gap between $42 billion in defense spending and $39 billion in domestic resources over eight months, combined with an additional $27 billion Ministry of Defense request for the rest of the year, signals a financing shortfall that cannot be closed without external support. Pidlasa's link between Russian strikes and the VAT shortfall reframes attacks on revenue-producing infrastructure as a direct attack on Ukraine's ability to fund its own defense.
What happened
Speaking at the Yalta European Strategy (YES) conference in Kyiv, Roksolana Pidlasa, head of the Verkhovna Rada budget committee, said one day of war now costs Ukraine $190 million, up from $140 million in 2024. She said the increase reflects inflation, growth in the size of the armed forces, more military families entitled to state support, and the need for more weapons — particularly medium- and long-range strike systems used against Russian oil refineries. The $190 million figure does not include weapons supplied by partners.
Over the first eight months of 2026, Ukraine spent nearly $42 billion on national security and defense, excluding military aid from partners. Domestic resources — budget revenues and internal borrowings — covered only about $39 billion. The Ministry of Defense has stated an additional $27 billion funding need for the rest of 2026, a figure President Volodymyr Zelensky had previously cited. Internal and imported VAT revenues fell $1.35 billion short of the eight-month plan, with a quarter of that gap — about $337.5 million — lost in August alone; Pidlasa attributed the shortfall to Russian strikes on sectors that generate budget revenue.
Pidlasa also said Russia spent a record $123 billion on its war against Ukraine in the first six months of 2026 and is producing more missiles and drones than at any point since the start of the full-scale invasion.
Background
The $190 million daily figure excludes the cost of weapons supplied by partner countries. President Volodymyr Zelensky had previously cited an additional defense funding need of $27 billion by year-end.