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Ukraine: Zelensky says next year's budget will be war budget focusing on defence

Ukraine: Zelensky says next year's budget will be war budget focusing on defence
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said over a trillion hryvnias next year 'will go to the security and defence sector', adding that this will be 'the number one priority'.
2 min read
08 September, 2022
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said social obligations such as pensions had to be covered in full [SERGEI SUPINSKY/AFP/Getty-archive]

President on Wednesday said next year's budget would be a war budget, devoting more than a trillion hryvnias ($27.40 billion) to defence and security spending.

In an evening video address, he also said social obligations such as pensions had to be covered in full.

Non-critical expenses must be reduced as much as possible, Ìý²¹»å»å±ð»å.

Zelensky said he had met earlier in the day with Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko and other officials.

"It is clear that this will be the budget of a country at war," he said.

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"More than a trillion hryvnias next year will go to the security and defence sector. This is going to be the number one priority."

The government would present plans to reduce spending on state enterprises, officials and institutions that were deemed non-essential, he said.

A special rebuilding fund will be set up to be partly made up from proceeds of the confiscation of Russian assets, he said, repeating an idea Kyiv has raised earlier.

has estimated the costs of the war combined with lower tax revenues has left a $5 billion-a-month fiscal shortfall - or 2.5 percentÌýof pre-war GDP.

Economists calculate that pushes the annual deficit to 25 percentÌýof GDP, compared with just 3.5 percentÌýbefore the conflict.

(Reuters)

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