The draft state budget of Ukraine for 2026 will be created based on an alternative macroeconomic scenario that anticipates the continuation of war throughout the coming year.

This was announced by Ukraine's Finance Minister, Serhiy Marchenko, during a presentation of the government's action plan.

«Our baseline macroeconomic scenario assumes the end of the war in 2025. The alternative scenario considers ongoing conflict in 2026. At this moment, we must be pragmatic. Thus, for the entire year of 2026, we plan to continue military actions», Marchenko stated.

Accordingly, this implies a need for external financing amounting to 45 billion dollars, the minister emphasized. These funds are needed not only to cover the deficit but also to repay debts.

He noted that this need is not fully met yet, but negotiations are already underway with key partners - G7 countries and the European Union.

«I believe that together with our key stakeholders, we will come to an acceptable solution on how to address these needs», the minister assured.

Regarding fiscal policy, Marchenko emphasized that the primary task is to maintain the revenue share of the budget in GDP.

«The key task is to preserve the revenue share in GDP. We expect to achieve this through measures to de-shadow the economy and reboot fiscal authorities. This is the focus of our negotiations with the International Monetary Fund team», he added.