Ukraine faces a $27 billion gap in war financing: costs reach $155 billion in 2026

Ukrainian Prime Minister Sergii Koretskyi warned on Wednesday that the total costs of the war will reach $155 billion this year, while the government is struggling to close a $27 billion gap to ensure it can continue combat operations into early 2027 as well.

Koretskyi said the government plans to cover $7 billion of the gap by deferring spending, reallocating funds from other parts of the budget and making cuts, while talks have begun with international partners on the remaining $20 billion — as Reuters reports.

“Our ability to conduct active combat operations, including in the first quarter of 2027, depends on this financing,” Koretskyi said, according to Reuters.

This is the first time Kyiv has published an annual estimate of the costs of the war. The $155 billion figure also includes Western military aid that does not pass through the state budget, including air-defense missiles, ammunition and aircraft.

Ukraine’s total budget revenues this year are expected to be around $70 billion and go entirely to defense. Foreign aid depends on meeting required reforms — up to $29.5 billion in aid is at risk if Kyiv does not meet its commitments to the IMF and the EU by October 15, according to Reuters.

On the other side, Russia plans to spend 17.1 trillion rubles (around $202.6 billion) on defense in 2027 — the largest increase since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, as Reuters reports.