Ukraine Confronts €23 Billion Defense Gap as Zelenskyy Urges Faster Support
Updated
Updated · POLITICO Europe · Aug 24
Ukraine Confronts €23 Billion Defense Gap as Zelenskyy Urges Faster Support
3 articles · Updated · POLITICO Europe · Aug 24
Summary
A €23 billion shortfall in Ukraine’s 2026 defense budget has left Kyiv scrambling for funds even as Western leaders gathered in the capital for Independence Day.
The gap covers more than weapons and air defense: Ukraine also needs cash to pay soldiers, support families of the war dead and secure supplies needed to carry operations into 2027.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy used Monday’s event to press allies for faster, fuller backing, saying Ukraine was not asking others to fight but to provide everything needed to stop Russia sooner.
The funding hole underscores how sustaining Ukraine’s war effort now depends not only on battlefield aid pledges but on steady financing for the military’s basic operations.