Volodymyr Zelenskyy recently announced an acute shortage of budget funds for defense. The head of state bluntly said that meeting the needs of the defense sector has become the most difficult challenge for the authorities. Of course, the increase in the intensity of the war requires additional resources. And so the question arises: where to get money for modern technical armament of the Defense Forces, decent and timely financial support for Ukrainian defenders? It seems that a way out can be found. There is money to replenish the budget, Mr. President. You just need to curb the financial appetites of your “friends” a little!
War is always bloodthirsty. It destroys and devastates. It exhausts and forces us to show incredible courage and endurance, to look for opportunities to give a worthy rebuff to an impudent and insidious enemy. To prove to him on the battlefield that our thirst for freedom and will, our national values, martial arts and our technological superiority are stronger than Russian imperial ambitions and narrow-mindedness, an insistent attempt to please the interests of the ruling Kremlin elite. This is especially important today, when we celebrate Ukraine’s Independence Day. We defend the achievements achieved over 35 years.
We must admit that we are currently going through difficult times. Ukraine faces political and economic challenges. The situation on the Russian-Ukrainian front remains tense. And it is quite difficult to gain a significant advantage in the confrontation with the enemy.
We feel that the increase in the intensity of the war requires additional resources. Currently, these resources are absent in the budget. As the PromPolitInform portal reported, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky recently emphasized the critical lack of funding, introducing the new Minister of Defense.
According to the head of state, the enemy is constantly expanding the arsenal of tools, which forces Ukraine to intensify its own countermeasures and increase expenditures, which currently exceed the planned amounts.
Why did such financial strain arise? One of the reasons, Prime Minister of Ukraine Serhiy Koretsky said, was that partners provided only a quarter of the promised financial assistance. An urgent need arose for additional financing for operations using drones, which have demonstrated high efficiency in hitting Muscovite targets at tactical and strategic depths. It was noted that such expenses were not included in the budget. And this forced government officials to redistribute funds intended for the financial support of military personnel.
The additional financial burden arose due to the need to develop means of combating new types of Russian weapons. In particular, this concerns responding to strikes by jet drones, against which existing interception systems have proven ineffective. And there is also a need to develop and manufacture new ground robotic complexes, ballistics, and long-range means of defeating the enemy.
So the president and government officials face the question: where to get the money needed for defense? The task, of course, is not easy. But it can be solved. How? This was prompted by a topic raised in one of the materials posted on Glavkom.
The financial results of the work of the former head of the State Enterprise “Forests of Ukraine” Yuriy Bolokhovets cannot but be impressive. In particular, in June 2026 he was awarded UAH 9.2 million, of which UAH 7.68 million was a bonus for work results, and UAH 651 thousand was compensation for unused vacation. And the current acting general director of the same state enterprise, Ihor Zubovich, was awarded UAH 732.5 thousand in salary in July.
The PromPolitInform portal also reported on this.
And there are many such examples, as in the state enterprise “Forests of Ukraine”. In the country, many of the management of state enterprises and institutions, companies, joint-stock companies and supervisory boards are paid fabulous money for the performance of their duties, as well as multi-thousand-dollar bonuses based on the results of their work. And, as we see, the financial assessment of their activities is calculated in tens of millions of hryvnias.
Can such huge personal profits of some individuals not be a certain source for ensuring defense needs? But for this, Mr. President and the relevant ministers need to carefully look at the efficiency of the work of these managers and their contribution to the defense potential of the state and increasing the stability of the economy, restoring the regions affected by Russian aggression. And the main task is to reduce the financial appetites of those who hold leadership positions. After all, it is not right to stuff your own wallets in a situation when most Ukrainians are poor, suffer from daily attacks, barely make ends meet, as they say. It is not humane.
I cannot but mention the “patriotism” of wealthy leaders, those who thus profit in the rear at a time when the state is in a state of war and needs support. And here I recall the famous slogans “Everything for the front! Everything for victory!”, which sounded more than eighty years ago. Back then, it was a matter of honor to invest the accumulated funds in the construction of personal tanks, planes and ships. I gave but the last one.
Without this it will be difficult for us to count on such a desired victory.
Oleksandr Bondarenko
