President Zelensky says Ukraine costs $120 billion a year due to conflict

According to RIA Novosti, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on September 17 that each year of conflict costs Ukraine $120 billion, of which $60 billion will have to be requested in aid from allies.

"The price of this war, the price of a year is $120 billion, of which $60 billion is given by the Ukrainian budget, and I need to find $60 billion for next year," President Zelensky said at a press conference with the head of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, in Kiev.

Earlier, the Chairman of the Ukrainian Parliamentary Budget Committee (Verkhovna Rada) said that Ukraine will need at least $120 billion for defense next year, of which the government will be able to cover no more than half.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian Defense Minister Denis Shmygal said Kiev will try to force Western allies to include an additional $60 billion for Ukraine's needs in their budgets next year.

In July 2025, Mr. Zelensky signed a law increasing spending on Ukraine's security and defense sector this year by 412 billion hryvnias (about $9.8 billion).

In September, Ukrainian Finance Minister Sergei Marchenko said that Ukraine's state budget deficit in 2026 will reach 16 billion euros.

In a development related to the path to finding an agreement with Russia, Deputy Speaker of the Ukrainian Parliament Yaroslav Zheleznyak said that on September 17, in a closed meeting with delegates of the Servant of the People Party, President Zelensky emphasized that he would "not hand over Donbass to Russia". In addition, Mr. Zelensky declared that the Armed Forces of Ukraine are operating "everything is going well" and victory is expected to belong to Ukraine.