Ukraine Approves 2026 State Budget: Record Deficit and Higher Social Standards

The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine voted on December 3 to approve the state budget for 2026 in its final reading. A total of 257 members of parliament supported the bill, according to the live broadcast of the parliamentary session.

Under the government’s proposal, state budget revenues for 2026 are projected at 2.92 trillion hryvnias, while expenditures are set at 4.78 trillion hryvnias. This results in a deficit of roughly 2.4 trillion hryvnias, equivalent to 18.5% of GDP.

A significant portion of this deficit still lacks secured financing. The gap amounts to approximately $19 billion (around 800 billion hryvnias). The government had expected the shortfall to be covered by a reparations-related loan from the European Union, but the EU has not yet made a final decision on the matter.

Defense spending for 2026 is planned at 2.8 trillion hryvnias. Nominally, this figure mirrors the defense expenditures outlined in the 2025 budget when it was first submitted to parliament. However, since lawmakers increased defense spending for 2025 by an additional 300 billion hryvnias in autumn, the real defense budget for 2026 will be lower than in the current year.

The 2026 budget also includes the first increase in social standards since 2023. Specifically:

• the minimum monthly wage will rise from 8,000 to 8,647 hryvnias (+8%);

• the general subsistence minimum will increase from 2,920 to 3,209 hryvnias (+9.9%);

• the subsistence minimum for able-bodied individuals will grow from 3,028 to 3,328 hryvnias (+9.9%);

• the subsistence minimum for persons who have lost working capacity will rise from 2,361 to 2,595 hryvnias (+9.9%).