Moscow's war has plagued the Ukrainian economy for the past 2.5 years, causing tens of billions of dollars in damage, punching a huge hole in state finances and forcing Kiev to rely on Western support to stay afloat.
A draft plan presented by the finance ministry shows Ukraine will allocate 2.22 trillion Ukrainian hryvnia ($54 billion) to "national security and defense" in 2025.
This represents about 26% of Ukraine's GDP and 61% of the government's total planned spending of 3.64 trillion hryvnia.
"I can state with confidence that, based on the 2025 budget plan, Ukraine's defense will be guaranteed," Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko said.
In comparison, Russia plans to spend 10.8 trillion rubles ($115 billion) on defense this year, or about 30 percent of its budget.
In Ukraine, about 740 billion hryvnias will go to weapons production and delivery, while almost 1.2 trillion hryvnias is for soldiers' salaries.
Marchenko warned that the country faces "rather slow economic growth due to the impact of attacks on our energy infrastructure." He predicted that GDP would increase by 2.7 percent next year.
Last week, Kiev raised planned defence spending for 2024 by almost a third amid rising military spending.
The 2025 defence budget is expected to be only 2% higher than the revised 2024 one.
Ukraine says it needs $38.4 billion in financial aid from its Western backers and international financial organizations, slightly less than this year's requirements.
The war-torn country has received $98 billion in international financial aid since Russia began its invasion in February 2022. In addition to tens of billions in military and humanitarian aid.
"This is probably the most important area - to ensure rhythmic and full funding from our partners," Marchenko explained.
Under the proposals, Kiev envisages about a 70% increase in personal income tax revenues next year.
The finance minister said inflation would remain high in 2025, reaching 9.5%. | BGNES
