Ukraine's PM warns Rada must convene October 12 or risk losing $29.5 billion in partner funding
Prime Minister Serhiy Koretskyi said Ukraine could miss out on $29.5 billion from international partners if the Verkhovna Rada fails to pass required legislation in time, and announced the government is negotiating an extraordinary session for Monday, October 12.
Key points
- At stake is $29.5 billion from international partners that Ukraine risks not receiving if obligations are not met.
- Prime Minister Serhiy Koretskyi said the Verkhovna Rada may convene on Monday, October 12, to vote on the needed bills.
- The government is working in a maximally rapid mode to fulfill its own commitments by October 15.
- Meeting the conditions requires both government resolutions and adoption of laws by the Verkhovna Rada, each with its own deadline.
- The Verkhovna Rada went on a month-long break from plenary sessions on September 19 and had been scheduled to return on October 13.
- Partners have their own procedures for approving and allocating funds, which take additional time.
Why it matters
The $29.5 billion in partner funding is central to closing Ukraine's budget gap — including a roughly $27 billion defense deficit reported by one source — and to maintaining monthly payments for salaries, pensions and social benefits. Without an extraordinary session before October 13, the legislative deadlines tied to the funding would slip, and Ukraine could lose the disbursement for this year.
What happened
Prime Minister Serhiy Koretskyi told journalists that Ukraine risks not receiving $29.5 billion from international partners unless it meets a set of conditions tied to specific deadlines. The government is working to deliver its own resolutions and decisions by October 15, but a second tranche of obligations requires the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament, to adopt the relevant laws. The Rada went on a roughly month-long break from plenary sessions on September 19, with MPs originally scheduled to return on October 13. Koretskyi said the government is now negotiating with the Rada to hold an extraordinary session one day earlier, on Monday, October 12, to vote on the necessary bills. He warned that a later vote could push the disbursement outside this year because partners' own internal approval and allocation procedures take additional time.
Background
On September 19 the Verkhovna Rada began a roughly month-long break from plenary sessions, originally scheduled to return on October 13. On September 28 the government adopted a decision prioritizing state expenditures: defense, pensions, social payments, and budget-sector wages take priority, while non-critical new construction, reconstruction, capital repairs, and beautification projects are postponed. Each funding-related condition carries its own deadline by which the relevant law must be voted on and signed, and partners have their own internal procedures for approving and allocating the funds.