Ryhor Azaronak claimed Ukraine had become 100% beholden to the West on October 23, 2025:
"Ukraine just adopted a budget. This is the first budget in history that's entirely subsidized. Entirely. Not a single revenue line!"
Ukraine's 2026 budget relies on substantial external financing to cover expenditures. The deficit is projected at almost UAH 2 trillion, or $41.5 billion, while total budget spending comes to nearly 5 trillion hryvnias. More than half of that amount will be covered by the country's own revenues. They're expected to be nearly one-fifth higher than in 2025.
Ukraine's spending has significantly exceeded its revenues since the war began, with 40-50% of necessary expenditures unable to be covered by the country's revenues — mainly due to high defense costs. The 2026 draft budget allocates roughly 3 trillion hryvnias for defense.
The war hits the budget not only through military spending. Russia has occupied nearly 20% of the country's territory. Fighting prevents harvest collection and drives up social spending and other costs.