At a session of the Kyiv City Council held on November 5, 2026, a draft resolution to increase funding for military units by an additional 1 billion hryvnias was presented. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko announced this at the beginning of the meeting while addressing deputies. According to him, the additional funds will be directed under the "Defender of Kyiv" program to support the Security and Defense Forces of Ukraine.
"Defender of Kyiv" program: city funding mechanisms
Vitali Klitschko emphasized that the decision to allocate another 1 billion UAH is a continuation of the systematic work of the capital's budget to meet the needs of the military. He recalled that at the previous Kyiv Council meeting, expenditures for military unit needs had already been increased, with the sum of additional funds then totaling 1.5 billion hryvnias. Thus, in a short period, the city has adjusted its budget twice in favor of defense needs, which demonstrates the growing requirements of units deployed in the capital and its surroundings.
Total support volume for 2026 reached 6 billion hryvnias
Summarizing all previously adopted decisions and the current one, the head of Kyiv stated that overall for the current year, including funds approved on November 5, Kyiv will send 6 billion hryvnias to support defenders. This figure reflects the cumulative contribution of the capital's budget to military provision throughout 2026 and includes both regular allocations and unplanned surcharges adopted as needed.
More than 62,000 drones and other equipment handed over to brigades
Vitali Klitschko also provided data on the material and technical support that city authorities have sent to the military since the beginning of the current year. According to him, Kyiv has transferred more than 62,000 unmanned aerial vehicles of various types to different brigades. In addition to drones, the list of transferred equipment included electronic warfare systems, ground-based robotic complexes, and other necessary equipment. These figures demonstrate the scale of logistical and production work that the city administration is conducting in coordination with military structures.
Context: the role of city budgets in defense provision
Allocating funds from local budgets for military needs has become one of the characteristic features of the Ukrainian defense financing model during the ongoing conflict. Kyiv, as the country's largest city and administrative center, assumes a significant portion of obligations to support units, which allows for supplementing state funding with municipal resources. The Kyiv City Council decision of November 5, 2026, reinforces this approach at an institutional level and provides a legal basis for further expenditure of funds.
