Overview
- Prime Minister Sergii Koretskyi announced the start of work on the 2027 budget on Thursday and set an internal deadline of July 31 for ministries to submit proposals on the document’s main parameters and a legal deadline of September 15 to deliver the draft to the Verkhovna Rada.
- Koretskyi told ministries the draft must focus on strengthening defence capacity, ensuring financial stability, and maintaining a considered social policy.
- Finance Minister Serhii Marchenko estimated in May that Ukraine needs roughly $95 billion in external financing for 2026–2027, a shortfall that raises pressure on how the budget will allocate funds between military needs and social programs.
- The prime minister and Verkhovna Rada Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk agreed on concrete steps to tighten government–parliament coordination, a change that is likely to speed negotiations over spending trade-offs and budget approval.
- The next key milestones to watch are ministries’ parameter submissions by July 31 and formal budget negotiations after the cabinet sends the draft to parliament by September 15, with outcomes likely to affect public services, pensions and the scale of defence spending.