Zelenskyj seals defense spending for 2024 – the night update Zelenskyj seals defense spending for 2024 – the night update

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj has signed the 2024 state budget of the country that aims to join the EU and NATO, spending billions on armaments. The defense budget of more than 40 billion euros accounts for approximately half of the total budget expenditure. “It is clear that protection against Russian aggression is a priority,” Zelensky said in his video message in Kiev on Tuesday evening. At the same time, he emphasized that the leadership will also take into account the “social needs of our people and fulfill the social obligations of the country.”

Despite the war, it is important that citizens receive support from the state, Zelensky said. According to the budget, defense spending has a clear priority. For example, to defend against Russia’s war of aggression, 43 billion hryvnias (1.08 billion euros) are earmarked for the production of drones and the same amount for the production of ammunition and weapons, according to the budget published on the parliamentary website.

The costs for this will come from own revenues from taxes, customs duties and dividends from state-owned enterprises and from privatizations, as the media in Kiev reported. As this year, about half of the estimated total budget expenditure of about 84.08 billion euros will be financed by incurring debt. The country, which has been economically weakened by the war, expects a turnover of around 44.37 billion euros in the coming year, almost entirely of which will be spent on defense.

By comparison, Russia plans to increase its military budget to almost a third of its total budget as part of its war of aggression against neighboring Ukraine. The 2024 defense budget will rise to 10.8 trillion rubles (about 111 billion euros), almost three times Ukraine’s spending. In total, Russia’s budget expenditure is expected to reach 36.7 trillion rubles (376 billion euros) next year.

Ukraine remains dependent on Western support

According to Ukrainian media, the 2024 budget also provides for an increase in the minimum wage from the equivalent of 170 euros to a maximum of 200 euros per month. At the same time, the country expects – just like this year – economic growth of around 4.6 percent.

However, since the beginning of the Russian invasion in February 2022, the Ukrainian state budget has been more dependent on Western support than ever before. The 2023 budget was financed from abroad with the equivalent of more than 38 billion euros. This corresponds to approximately 60 percent of the total budget.

The EU announced it would release a further €194 million to equip and train Ukrainian soldiers. The financial injection is intended to help EU countries supply the necessary material, the EU countries announced on Tuesday. The money flows in the context of the EU training mission EUMAM. According to information, more than 34,000 soldiers have already been trained within this program. The EU training mission was decided last year by the foreign ministers of the member states.

Putin after almost two years of war: “We have become stronger”

After his nearly two-year assault on Ukraine, Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin, in his own words, once again sees Russia as a “great power” on the world stage. “We have become stronger,” Putin said on Tuesday. He also highlighted Russia’s annexation of Ukrainian territories, which was internationally condemned as a violation of international law, as a success. Modern Russia has regained and consolidated “its sovereignty as a world power,” Putin said.

In contrast, the West, which imposed sanctions on Russia during the war, sees Russia as economically weakened and isolated on the international stage. Ukraine, which was attacked by Russia, criticizes the country as a “terrorist state” that wants to impose a dictatorship on other peoples seeking freedom. Putin brought death and destruction to the neighboring country with his war, which he started on February 24, 2022.

What will be important on Wednesday

The foreign ministers of the NATO countries meet in Brussels for talks with their Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba. Discussions at the defense alliance headquarters will focus, among other things, on the situation at the front and the need for support from Ukraine. Ukraine’s plans to bring its security sector into line with NATO standards are also a problem.

For the first time, consultations will be organized at the level of foreign ministers in the form of the new NATO-Ukraine Council. The body is intended to enable closer cooperation until the conditions for Ukraine’s accession to NATO are met. The NATO-Ukraine Council met for the first time at the level of heads of state or government during the NATO summit in Lithuania in July. There has also been one meeting at Defense Minister level and several at NATO Ambassador level. (sda/dpa)