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The government has spent 96% of the budget reserve fund in three months

The government has spent 96% of the budget reserve fund in three months

Katerina Melnychenko Deputy Editor-in-Chief

11 June 2026, 12:15

The government has spent 96% of the budget reserve fund in three months — The National Audit Office has warned of the risk of a shortfall in funds for unforeseen expenditure by the end of the year.

In the first quarter of 2026, the Cabinet of Ministers allocated 96.3% of the annual allocation for the state budget’s contingency fund. The Audit Office has warned of the risk of a shortfall in funds for unforeseen expenditure by the end of the year.

This is stated in the analysis of the implementation of the state budget for the first quarter of 2026, published by the Accounting Chamber.

The Cabinet of Ministers allocated 96.3% of the annual volume of the state budget’s reserve fund as early as the first quarter of 2026.

The Audit Office noted that 38% of the allocated funds were directed towards measures that do not correspond to the purpose of the reserve fund. According to the agency’s assessment, this creates a risk of insufficient resources to finance genuinely unforeseen expenditure by the end of the year.

The reserve fund and housing compensation

The Accounting Chamber also pointed out that funds from the fund for the elimination of the consequences of armed aggression, amounting to 3.2 billion hryvnias, were not used in the first quarter.

Consequently, according to the agency, UAH 23.8 billion in compensation for destroyed housing remained unpaid.

The Accounting Chamber emphasised that this situation increases the risks to the budgetary system, as reserve mechanisms are intended to address precisely such unforeseen and urgent needs.

Budget revenue and GDP

In the first quarter of 2026, state budget revenue rose to 1.02 trillion UAH. This is 10% more than in the same period of 2025.

At the same time, the Accounting Chamber recorded a 0.5% decline in real GDP. This marked the first decline in real GDP since the second quarter of 2023.

Debt and borrowing

Corporate tax arrears rose to UAH 242.9 billion in the first quarter.

Public debt increased to 9.23 trillion UAH. Revenues from government borrowing were 273 billion UAH below target.

The Accounting Chamber explained that one of the reasons was the delay in funding from the European Union under the Ukraine Facility programme.

Military expenditure

As of 10 June, government expenditure stood at 1.15 trillion UAH. Of this amount, 317.8 billion UAH was allocated to support the military.

Olga Pishchanska, Head of the Accounting Chamber, stated that these figures indicate an accumulation of risks within the budgetary system. According to her, Ukraine needs a more systematic approach to financial planning.

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