By Burc Eruygur
ISTANBUL (AA) - Ukraine’s parliament approved Thursday the first reading of a draft state budget for 2025 as the conflict between Kyiv and Moscow rages for more than two-and-a-half years.
The Finance Ministry said 247 lawmakers voted for the budget which has 2.2 trillion Ukrainian hryvnias ($53 billion) allocated for national security and defense.
It said that amount is about 26% of the GDP, and $1.1 billion higher compared to the 2024 budget.
Revenues of the general fund of the state budget are planned to be $48.5 billion, while expenditures are expected to reach $87.4 billion, it said.
The statement added that 2,099 proposals were submitted during preparation for the budget, which was submitted to parliament by the government on Sept. 14.
Finance Minister Serhii Marchenko was quoted in the statement that the budget is a response to the “needs of the time.”
“Defense funding and social programs are priorities that we have identified together with the parliament. This approach allows maintaining a balance between urgent needs and strategic tasks facing the country,” he added.
“The priority of next year's budget will remain security and defense. All taxes paid by people and businesses will go towards strengthening our defenders and military capabilities,” Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said on Telegram.