Ukraine’s 2024 defense budget will exceed 21.6% of GDP for the first time.

On October 9, the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) defined the main parameters of the 2024 defense budget. The National Security Council instructed the Cabinet of Ministers to allocate at least 21.6% of GDP to the state budget for national security and defense. This represents a total of ₴1.69T.

Last year, the National Security Council ordered the allocation of ₴1.14T, or 17.8% of GDP, to the defense budget. Before the start of the war, the NSDC demanded that no less than 5% of the planned GDP be allocated to defense.

Compared with last year’s decision, a new item appeared in the current decree: the NSDC ordered the security and defense sector bodies to implement necessary legal steps to reduce overdue receivables. As of July 1, 2023, outstanding receivables to the Ministry of Defense amounted to ₴33B, of which debts of Ukrainian enterprises accounted for 67.5%.