Defense spending in Ukraine increased in December: Where are the record amounts going?

The Ministry of Finance of Ukraine reported a significant increase in defense spending in December. According to the data, purchases by the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) at the expense of the state budget increased to UAH 90.8 billion this month, representing 22.6% of all expenditures.

Compared to November, when similar expenditures amounted to UAH 50.4 billion (17.6%), and October, when the figure was UAH 31.8 billion (13.9%), there is a significant increase.

In addition, cash expenditures for military personnel also increased in December, reaching UAH 107.8 billion (UAH 74.7 billion in November and UAH 79.8 billion in October).

In December, the salaries of military personnel amounted to 26.9% of the cash expenditures of the general fund of the state budget, compared to 26.1% in November and 34.9% in October.

It is noted that the total expenditures of the general fund of the state budget in December reached a record UAH 401.4 billion, compared to UAH 285.7 billion in November and UAH 228.5 billion in October.

It is noteworthy that the cash expenditures of the general fund of the state budget in 2023 amounted to UAH 3 trillion 34.2 billion, of which 31.1% were allocated for the salaries of military personnel and 17% for procurement of the Armed Forces, which together account for almost half of all expenditures.