Ukraine's cabinet submits 2027 draft budget to parliament: 5.65 trillion UAH in revenues, 7.27 trillion UAH in expenditures, $52.6 billion in needed international support
Ukraine's Cabinet of Ministers approved the draft State Budget for 2027 on the evening of 15 September and submitted it to the Verkhovna Rada (Ukraine's parliament) as bill No. 16000. The draft projects revenues of about 5.65 trillion UAH (up 8.7% on the adjusted 2026 plan) and expenditures of 7.27 trillion UAH (up 13.5%), with 66.8% of spending going to security and defense. Prime Minister Serhiy Koretsky called it a "budget of a warring country," while Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko said Ukraine has not faced such fiscal pressure since the start of the full-scale invasion and called for action on frozen Russian assets.
Key points
- Draft 2027 revenues: 5.65 trillion UAH (+8.7% vs. adjusted 2026 plan); expenditures: 7.27 trillion UAH (+13.5%)
- Defense and security: 4.86 trillion UAH, 43.8% of GDP, 66.8% of expenditures; the Ministry of Defense alone gets 3.76 trillion UAH (+320 billion UAH)
- International support requirement: $52.6 billion; the state covers less than half of expenditures from its own resources
- Total state spending will exceed 8 trillion UAH — over four times the pre-full-scale-invasion level
- Over 131 billion UAH of projected revenues depend on tax-code amendments (VAT +1pp, fuel excise +4pp) that the Budget Committee chair considers unlikely to pass
- Analysts estimate a financing gap of $36.5–37.8 billion; $89.7 billion in foreign financing is envisioned, but only $56–57.1 billion is from known sources
- MPs must submit amendments by 1 October; first reading expected in late October
Why it matters
The 2027 draft is the most war-focused budget in Ukraine's history, with two-thirds of spending going to security and defense. Total state expenditure exceeds 8 trillion UAH — more than four times the pre-2022 level — and the state covers less than half from its own resources. Roughly $52.6 billion in international assistance is required for the budget to balance, but analysts estimate a $36.5–37.8 billion gap even after proposed tax measures, and the Budget Committee chair considers the tax hikes unlikely to pass. The prime minister publicly framed the draft as a "budget of a warring country," while the finance minister called the fiscal situation the most tense since 2022 and urged progress on frozen Russian assets.
What happened
The Cabinet of Ministers approved the draft State Budget for 2027 on the evening of 15 September and registered it in the Verkhovna Rada as bill No. 16000. The Ministry of Finance prepared the draft, which projects revenues of 5 trillion 648 billion UAH (up 8.7% on the adjusted 2026 plan) and expenditures of 7 trillion 272 billion UAH (up 13.5%). Tax revenues are projected at around 2.79 trillion UAH, an 11% increase over the current 2026 budget. Defense and security spending is set at 4 trillion 885 billion UAH, or 43.8% of GDP — 66.8% of total expenditures — including 3.76 trillion UAH for the Ministry of Defense alone (320 billion UAH more than its 2026 plan). Social spending is set at 540.3 billion UAH (+15.5%), education at 328.5 billion UAH (+21.6%), healthcare at 292.5 billion UAH (+13.9%), and veteran policy at 20.5 billion UAH (+3 billion). About 100 billion UAH goes to the energy sector, including 60 billion UAH for protecting and restoring facilities damaged by Russian attacks and developing distributed gas generation. The budget also provides 96 billion UAH for economic and business support, 116 billion UAH for public investment projects (76.4 billion UAH of it from international financial organizations and foreign governments), and a 25% partial restoration of the State Road Fund at 52.8 billion UAH. The draft includes a 65% salary increase for teachers, doctors, and nurses. Over 131 billion UAH of projected revenues depend on tax-code amendments — including a 1 percentage point VAT increase to 21% and a 4 percentage point fuel-excise increase — that the Budget Committee chair personally assesses as unlikely to pass. MPs must submit amendments by 1 October; the Budget Committee will then prepare the draft for its first reading, expected in late October.
How Ukrainian sources describe it
All coverage is from Ukrainian outlets, which uniformly emphasize the scale of the war effort. Prime Minister Serhiy Koretsky's framing of a "budget of a warring country" is echoed across agency and media reporting. Ukrainian sources itemize sector-by-sector spending — defense, education, healthcare, social policy, veterans, energy, agriculture, the road fund, and the telethon — presenting the draft as a comprehensive social and security document. Several analytical and opposition-leaning outlets foreground the fiscal fragility: dependence on international aid, the need for tax hikes, the unlikelihood of parliamentary support, and the gap between projected and confirmed financing. Coverage also highlights politically and culturally symbolic allocations, including the near-doubling of funding for the Language Ombudsman, support for the Plast scouting movement, and financing for the telethon and public broadcaster (Suspilne). Energy-sector coverage frames protection and restoration of facilities damaged by Russian attacks and the development of distributed generation as a security and resilience priority.
Where reporting differs
Sources differ on the size of the revenue contingent on still-unpassed tax changes: parliamentary Budget Committee chair Roksolana Pidlasa cites more than 131 billion UAH tied to a VAT increase of 1 percentage point and a fuel-excise increase of 4 percentage points, while MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak puts the total at 117.3 billion UAH and notes the VAT rate and effective date are not specified in the documents. Coverage also presents the tax-driven revenue assumptions both as already built into the draft and as conditional on parliamentary approval, with the Budget Committee chair personally calling the proposed changes unlikely to pass. Estimates of the overall financing gap diverge: the official international-support requirement is $52.6 billion, while independent analysts cited in coverage put the unfinanced gap at $36.5–37.8 billion, with the potential for an end-2027 shortfall of around $80 billion if conditions worsen. One article attributes comments on the budget's energy priorities to Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, while others name Prime Minister Serhiy Koretsky.
Background
Ukraine's budget process requires the Cabinet to submit the draft to parliament, after which MPs can propose amendments by 1 October and the first reading is expected in late October. Earlier in 2025, the president urged lawmakers to pass seven outstanding bills needed to cover the 2026 budget deficit before the new draft was finalized. Major non-security line items in the 2027 draft include a planned 65% salary increase for teachers, doctors, and nurses; about 96 billion UAH for economic and business support; and roughly 100 billion UAH for the energy sector, including 60 billion UAH for protecting and restoring energy facilities after Russian attacks. The draft sets social spending at 540.3 billion UAH (+15.5%), education at 328.5 billion UAH (+21.6%), and healthcare at 292.5 billion UAH (+13.9%) compared with the adjusted 2026 plan.