MOSCOW, August 31, Viktor Zhdanov. The situation with public finances for 2024 in Kiev was called «uncertain». There is nothing to compensate for the expenses, the budget deficit is inevitable. More and more funds are needed for the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and in the West they already doubt the expediency of such spending on Ukraine.
Financial issueThe Kiev regime will allocate 1.6 trillion hryvnias ($43 billion) to the Armed Forces of Ukraine next year. This is the largest item of expenditure. «We are holding the sector back with quite serious efforts,» Finance Minister Sergei Marchenko acknowledged. Moreover, the military command is asking for five times more.
Meeting of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine An easy way to increase government revenue is to raise taxes. But five times is simply unrealistic. According to Marchenko, you can count on a maximum of eight additional billion hryvnia.
Falling incomeAccording to the National Bank of Ukraine, the state budget deficit is 26 percent of GDP and will reach $38 billion by the end of the year. Kyiv lost a lot due to the termination of the Black Sea initiative — grain export revenues collapsed. In June they received 712 million, in July — only 380.
The outflow of the population abroad also has a negative effect. The local Economic Recovery Center and EasyBusiness warned last year that at this rate, Ukraine would lose $45 billion in tax revenue over ten years. Every 100,000 emigrants reduce GDP by almost a billion.
Ukrainians at the Medyka-Shegini checkpoint on the Polish-Ukrainian border
According to a poll by the analytical center UCE Research, 68 percent of Ukrainians blame the current government for economic difficulties. For specialists it is obvious: Ukraine exists only thanks to foreign aid.
The West doubts Marchenko speaks bluntly: all hope is in the West. Negotiations for the next tranche are already underway. For this year, Kyiv has received external funding for 1.5 trillion hryvnia ($41 billion). That is, 58.3 percent of government spending was covered by the United States, the European Union, Great Britain, Canada, as well as the IMF and the World Bank.
Head of the National Bank Andriy Pyshny hopes that the «partners» will give 37 billion in 2024. But even this will not balance the budget.
And in the US Congress, the voices of critics of the unbridled financial support of the Kyiv regime are getting louder. Senators James Vanche and Chip Roy have demanded that the issue be postponed until the specific goals and strategy of the White House are explained to them.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks at a joint session of Congress in Washington 09/838ab6c85156486a8723f69ba29ca344.jpg» />
«The complaints of the Minister of Finance don't really bother anyone in Kiev. Washington is thinking about Ukrainian military spending,» political scientist and economist Oleksandr Dudchak notes in an interview with political scientist and economist.
The West will continue to support the Kyiv regime. «You should not pay attention to the statements of individual politicians. Trump, for example, when he was president, did not stop sponsoring Ukraine. So far, the conflict is beneficial for Washington,» Dudchak explains.
Ukrainian volunteers collect donations for the Ukrainian army in Kiev
But the West is in no hurry to satisfy the excessive appetites of the command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. «They are not fools either. They want more efficiency from investments,» the expert specified.
«Ukraine will not be able to provide for itself even if hostilities suddenly stop,» political scientist Vasily Stoyakin adds. The requirements of the military are clearly overstated, and what will be allocated from the treasury, although back to back, is enough, he emphasizes.
And raising taxes is useless. There are 20-25 million people left in the territories controlled by Kyiv, of which 11 are pensioners. Those who replenish the budget, less and less. And this trend will continue.