The Government has developed mechanisms to increase defence funding. This was stated by Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal during the forum “Ukraine 2024. Independence”.

The Head of Government stressed the need for additional resources to be allocated to pay salaries to the military, purchase equipment, and finance the Ukrainian defence industry.

“Now Ukraine has a critical need to raise additional funds for our defence capability. It is hundreds of billions of hryvnias. Amendments to the budget for more than UAH 500 billion this year have been submitted to the Parliament,” said Denys Shmyhal.

According to him, the Government proposes four main sources of funds for these needs. These are:

• an increase in domestic borrowing;
• increase in the corporate tax rate for banks;
• expanding the base for the military tax;
• the introduction of the “work or fight” principle, which would bring the labour market out of the shadows.

At the same time, the Prime Minister stressed that the “work or fight” principle is not new. It was once voiced by the President of Ukraine.

“In a state that is fighting for its survival, there can be no people who stand on the sidelines. They must either fight or do everything to provide for those who are fighting. These are important moments for increasing the number of jobs, for raising average wages in industries, for filling our budget,” Denys Shmyhal stressed.