In 2018–2019, Ukraine’s state budget had a relatively small deficit. In 2018, the treasury received UAH 928.1 billion, while expenditures totaled UAH 985.8 billion. A year later, revenues reached UAH 998.3 billion, while expenditures rose to UAH 1.073 trillion. This was reported by Dengi.ua, citing an infographic from Slovo i Dilo.
In 2020, budget revenue exceeded the UAH 1 trillion mark for the first time, totaling UAH 1.076 trillion. At the same time, expenditures rose to UAH 1.288 trillion. In 2021, which coincided with the pandemic, the government collected UAH 1.297 trillion in revenue and spent UAH 1.490 trillion.
With the start of the full-scale Russian invasion in 2022, the situation changed dramatically. Ukraine had to significantly increase spending, primarily on defense and military support. State budget revenue that year totaled UAH 1.787 trillion, while expenditures reached UAH 2.705 trillion.
Since then, the Ukrainian economy has been operating amid massive military spending, inflation, exchange rate fluctuations, and the need to meet debt obligations. International financial assistance played a significant role in filling the budget and maintaining its stability, allowing the state to cover essential expenditures while simultaneously funding defense.
In 2023, state budget revenues rose to UAH 2.672 trillion, but expenditures increased much more sharply - to UAH 4.014 trillion. In 2024, revenues exceeded UAH 3 trillion, while expenditures totaled UAH 4.487 trillion. In 2025, revenues also exceeded UAH 3 trillion, while expenditures reached UAH 5.474 trillion.
The 2026 state budget projects revenues of UAH 5.196 trillion and expenditures of UAH 6.407 trillion. It was anticipated that a significant portion of the budget deficit would be covered by international support.
The draft state budget for 2027 projects revenues of UAH 5.648 trillion and expenditures of UAH 7.272 trillion.Nearly UAH 4 trillion of this amount is expected to be allocated to the needs of the Ministry of Defense. The budget deficit is preliminarily estimated at UAH 1.62 trillion.
How Much Does One Day of War Cost?
To estimate the cost of one day of war, data on the execution of the state budget for defense expenditures and the average annual dollar exchange rate were used. However, losses directly related to combat operations, as well as the cost of weapons received by Ukraine, were not included in the calculation.
From 2018 to 2021 - that is, before the start of the full-scale invasion - one day of Russian aggression cost Ukraine’s state budget approximately UAH 266-349 million.
After the full-scale war began, expenses rose sharply. In 2022, the cost of a single day of war reached UAH 3.1 billion; in 2023, it rose to UAH 5.7 billion; and in 2024, it reached UAH 6.3 billion.
By 2025, Ukraine was already spending an average of UAH 8.4 billion per day on military expenses. In the first six months of 2026, this figure rose to nearly UAH 8.6 billion per day.
