Ukraine’s military has run out of money to pay its frontline troops in full this month, a top lawmaker has warned.
Speaking on Ukrainian TV on Friday, Roksolana Pidlasa, who chairs the parliamentary budgetary committee, signaled that Kiev’s troops will receive a significantly smaller paycheck in September unless MPs approve amendments to the budget.
“The Defense Ministry tells us that they do not have the funds to hand out ‘combat’ payments by September 20,” Pidlasa warned, referring to the deadline for transferring the money. She added, however, that lawmakers would vote on the amendments to the state budget before this date.
“I cannot specify the date of the parliamentary meeting now, but we expect this vote to take place around September 17-18,” Pidlasa noted.
According to the MP, the budget gap was caused by a delay of several months in US aid, which in turn stemmed from a congressional gridlock. The crisis has forced the Ukrainian authorities to use money initially earmarked for military salaries to pay for weapons deliveries.
According to Pidlasa, Ukraine will also have to increase its domestic debt by another $5 billion to finance its military. Her comments came after Prime Minister Denis Shmigal admitted that Kiev faces a $35 billion deficit in next year’s budget, $15 billion of which has yet to be covered.
According to the Ukrainian Finance Ministry, budget expenditures have totaled $24 billion so far this year, which is 10% more than in the same period last year.
As things stand, Ukrainian servicemen receive a minimum salary of about $500 a month, with comparable one-time bonuses for those who sign contracts with the Defense Ministry. In addition, those who take part in combat receive an extra $2,500 in salary, with bonuses provided for service members who perform various frontline missions.