Financial sector news

The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has supported in the first reading a draft law on the state budget for 2026, which remains a “wartime budget” but with noticeable signs of economic recovery, according to the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine.

The key sources of state budget revenue will be part of the profits of the National Bank of Ukraine, grants from international partners, in particular within the Ukraine Facility program, as well as the gradual approximation of excise rates on tobacco products and fuel to EU standards.
Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko stressed that the state's own resources — taxes, customs revenues, and domestic borrowing — are primarily directed toward the needs of the security and defense sector. At the same time, the government continues to provide significant support to the social, humanitarian, and economic spheres.

The total revenue of the 2026 state budget is projected at UAH 2.8 trillion, which is more than UAH 400 billion higher than this year. The main areas of expenditure are:

• 2.8 trillion hryvnia — security and defense sector (27.2% of GDP);
  
• 467.1 billion hryvnia — social protection;
  
• 265.4 billion hryvnia — education;
  
• 258 billion hryvnia — healthcare;
  
• 50.5 billion hryvnia — economic and business support.

Additional budget revenues are expected from exceeding customs payments, which will be directed to a special fund for defense needs, as well as the return of part of the personal income tax, which was previously temporarily credited to local budgets.
The budget deficit of UAH 2.54 trillion is planned to be covered by government borrowing — UAH 419.6 billion domestically and UAH 2.12 trillion externally (USD 46.5 billion). At the same time, the government forecasts a reduction in the deficit to 18.4% of GDP, which is 7.4 percentage points less than last year.