Exclusive: Ukraine still missing billions in defense funds for 2026

Prefer on Google by Luca Léry Moffat, Chris Powers Ukrainian soldiers ride in a pickup trailer in Druzhkivka, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine, on April 16, 2026. (Yan Dobronosov/Global Images) Ukraine is still missing billions of euros needed for its defense in 2026, despite the EU finalizing a massive loan to Kyiv. Kyiv faces a defense gap of 19.6 billion euros ($23.1 billion) in 2026, even after accounting for 86.7 billion euros ($102 billion) already committed to the country and an extra 28.3 billion euros ($33.9 billion) on its way as part of the EU's 90-billion-euro Ukraine Support Loan , according to a European Commission presentation seen by the Kyiv Independent. Now in its fifth year of fighting off Russia's full-scale invasion, Ukraine relies heavily on foreign assistance to fund and supply its military, and to keep state services functioning. Outgoing Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban vetoed a central part of that funding, the 90 billion euro ($106 billion) Ukraine Support Loan, ostensibly over a dispute related to a Russian oil flow through the Soviet-era pipeline Druzhba pipeline. That veto is now expected to be lifted as Ukraine has repaired the pipeline and Orban lost to a pro-European challenger in Hungary's April 12 election. But while Ukraine's budget will be fully financed in 2026 in light of the loan, a gap remains for defense funds, the document says. Ukraine needs a total of 134.6 billion euros ($158.2 billion) for its defense in 2026, up from 111.4 ($130.9) billion euros in 2025. While the civilian side of expenditures is funded for this year,  Kyiv could also face a shortfall of cash in 2027 should no more funds be identified, European Commissioner for Economy Valdis Dombrovskis said, speaking to journalists in Brussels on April 21. The International Monetary Fund assumes that Ukraine will receive $38 billion from the European Union in 2027, to cover the country's gaping budget gap. But the breakdown of the EU's support loan means that only 13.3 billion euros ($15.6 billion) will be left for Kyiv in 2027, less than half of the IMF's assumption. That cash will also come with conditions attached, according to the presentation, intended as an additional incentive for Kyiv to pass EU membership and IMF rules, an EU official told the Kyiv Independent on condition of anonymity. Those measures include boosting Kyiv's capacity to raise tax revenues, reducing corruption, and aligning Ukraine with European norms and standards.