Zelensky signs Ukraine's 2026 state budget
The President signed the 2026 budget, with revenues of UAH 2.92 trillion and a deficit of UAH 1.9 trillion. Expenditures total UAH 4.78 trillion, a significant share allocated to defense; the budget provides for increases in social standards.
By Tetiana Suchkova-Ladik
December 10, 2025 · 1 min read
President Volodymyr Zelensky on 10 December signed the law on the state budget for 2026, which the Verkhovna Rada adopted on 3 December.
Main budget figures
Budget revenues are planned at UAH 2.92 trillion, of which UAH 2.63 trillion is for the general fund. Total expenditures amount to UAH 4.78 trillion, including UAH 4.39 trillion for the general fund.
Approximately half of the spending is allocated to the security and defense sector — UAH 2.81 trillion, which corresponds to 27.2% of GDP. Of this amount, UAH 1.3 trillion is earmarked as cash payments for servicemembers.
The ceiling for the deficit is set at UAH 1.9 trillion, or 18.5% of GDP.
Social payments and exchange rates
For the first time since 2023 the budget provides for increases in social standards: the minimum wage is to rise to UAH 8,647, the subsistence minimum to UAH 3,209, and the minimum pension to UAH 2,595.
The calculations assume an exchange rate of the hryvnia at UAH 45.7 per $1 and an average euro rate of UAH 49.4 per €1.
Parliamentary chronology
- The 2026 budget passed its first reading on 22 October after consideration of a record number of amendments, and it was adopted in full on 3 December.
- Work on the document during the second reading, scheduled for 18 November, was disrupted by a corruption scandal in the energy sector.
- For comparison: the 2025 budget passed its first reading on 31 October last year and was adopted in full on 19 November.
