Ukraine still needs $16 billion to cover defense budget gap, Zelenskyy says
Photo: Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine (Getty Images)
Ukraine has already significantly reduced its defense budget shortfall, but it still needs another $16 billion, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said while speaking with journalists.
Recently, Ukrainian Prime Minister Serhii Koretskyi said the government had managed to reduce the shortfall from $27 billion to $20 billion by saving its own resources.
Journalists asked Zelenskyy whether there were sources that could cover the remaining amount.
According to the president, Kyiv has found a way to solve this problem.
"We have found a format: in some cases, it is bilateral support, which has increased. In other cases, there are agreements with the European Union. We understand how to close the gap. We have a challenge right now: about $4 billion that we need immediately. We really need it," Zelenskyy stressed.
He confirmed that the remaining shortfall has not yet been fully covered. However, Ukrainian Finance Minister Serhii Marchenko assured the president that there is already an understanding of where to find $3 billion of that $4 billion.
Zelenskyy stressed that there was political will to bring forward next year’s $12 billion loan, while another $4 billion still needed to be found, making the gap a much smaller problem than before.
