Kyiv is running out of money

In all the speculation about when Russia might run out of money to fund its war in Ukraine, one fact has gone largely unnoticed: Ukraine’s pockets are emptying first. Kyiv has approved a draft State Budget for next year that devotes record sums for defence with a projected deficit of 18.4 per cent of GDP – some 2.4 trillion hryvnias (£46 billion). The IMF estimates the realistic deficit could be some £20 billion higher. In addition, the government still needs to plug a hole of nearly £6 billion in the current budget. As in previous years, the plan is to turn to allies, cap in hand, hoping that their generosity can keep pace with Ukraine’s mounting needs.

Ukraine spends 31 per cent of its GDP – roughly £92 billion a year – on the war, compared with Russia’s £120 billion war budget. Kyiv ca