NEW YORK, March 27. /TASS/. Ukraine may run out of money in its defense budget unless it is given more international aid to buy US weapons, Bloomberg reported, citing sources.
Kiev, which will need 45 billion euro in foreign financial assistance this year to keep its war machine afloat, currently has enough money to cover military spending until June. In December, the EU agreed to extend a 90 billion euro military loan to the country, and the bloc was due to give Ukraine fresh funding in April, but that timetable was disrupted after the release of loans was blocked by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban amid a squabble with Kiev over the Druzhba pipeline.
This aid package will likely remain in limbo until Hungary’s parliamentary election scheduled for April 12, Bloomberg wrote. Orban’s veto on more European funding for Kiev may complicate talks with other potential creditors, including the G7 countries at IMF meetings next month. According to Bloomberg, Ukraine expects them to contribute 30 billion euro.
In addition, a political standoff between Vladimir Zelensky and Ukraine’s parliament has hampered Kiev’s fulfillment of commitments under the International Monetary Fund’s 7 billion euro loan program. While some of the funds have already been disbursed, the Verkhovna Rada has yet to pass amendments to tax legislation required by the IMF, and lawmakers have until the next scheduled review in June to do so.
Ukraine is also asking European countries for help in securing more financing under the PURL program to purchase US weapons. While Kiev needs to buy 13 billion euro worth of in-demand weapons from the United States in 2026, only a handful of countries are paying for the bulk of this equipment, Bloomberg concluded.