Almost UAH 1.7 trillion envisaged for defense in 2024 draft budget – PM Shmyhal

Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said this at a government meeting on Tuesday, Ukrinform reports.

 “The budget for 2024 includes almost UAH 1.7 trillion for security and defense. Of this, about UAH 56 billion is intended for military production and more than UAH 48 billion replenish and develop the drone army," Shmyhal said.

He noted that the government had removed bureaucratic obstacles to the procurement of Ukrainian drones. Imports of raw materials for the production of ammunition and UAV components have been simplified.

"An additional important resource for drones, military equipment and ammunition is military personal income tax. We expect MPs to adopt a government bill at second reading that will redirect these funds to defense needs," Shmyhal said.

The Prime Minister thanked Parliament for adopting the government's draft law on strengthening defense capabilities. "We have added more than UAH 300 billion for defense. This is what our military needs right now," he emphasized.

As reported, President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a decree enacting the decision of the National Security and Defense Council to allocate more than 21% of the gross domestic product from the defense budget.

 Photo: Denys Shmyhal's Telegram channel