---
title: "One day of war costs Ukraine $190 million — and this is not the limit"
description: "According to an estimate by the head of the Verkhovna Rada budget committee, in 2026 one day of war costs Ukraine $190 million in its own expenditures, excluding aid from allies. Over eight months, about $42 billion was spent on defense, while own resources amounted to only $39 billion."
date: 2026-09-14T10:28:01.000Z
lang: en
url: https://xab.info/en/posts/one-day-of-war-costs-ukraine-190-million-dollars
tags: [ukraine-war, defense-budget, vat, sipri, military-spending]
publisher: "XAB.info"
---

# One day of war costs Ukraine $190 million — and this is not the limit

![Firefighters extinguish a burning car next to a damaged building — aftermath of attacks on Ukraine's civilian infrastructure](https://xab.info/media/2026/09/14/den-voyny-ukraine-190-millionov-dollarov/den-voyny-ukraine-190-millionov-dollarov-1.webp)

## 🎯 Key Points

- In 2026, one day of war costs Ukraine $190 million in its own expenditures, compared with $140 million in 2024
- Over the 8 months of 2026, about $42 billion was spent on defense against own resources of $39 billion, with additional needs of $27 billion
- Due to strikes on revenue-generating sectors, the budget lost $1.35 billion in VAT over 8 months
- SIPRI: Ukraine's defense spending in 2024 reached 34% of GDP — the heaviest military burden in the world

According to an estimate by Roksolana Podlasa, head of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Budget Matters, in 2026 a single day of the full-scale war costs the Ukrainian state budget $190 million. As reported by RBC-Ukraine, this figure covers the state's own expenditures only and does not include weapons, equipment, and ammunition provided by allies in kind. For comparison: in 2024, the cost of one day of defense stood at $140 million, meaning the indicator has grown by roughly a third in just two years.

### Budget fails to cover its own defense spending for the first time

In the eight months of 2026, approximately $42 billion was allocated to national security and defense, according to Podlasa. At the same time, the country's own resources — the combined total of budget revenues and domestic government bonds — amounted to only $39 billion over the same period. This means that Ukraine is for the first time unable to cover even the portion of defense spending that it previously financed on its own. The defense forces have declared an additional financial need of $27 billion by the end of the year.

### Strikes on revenue-generating sectors hit the treasury

The head of the budget committee emphasized that Russia is deliberately targeting precisely those economic sectors that generate the largest revenues for the budget. As a result, the budget lost $1.35 billion in domestic and import value-added tax (VAT) over the eight-month period, with a quarter of that amount lost already in August. Podlasa noted that $190 million a day is far from the limit, and spending will continue to rise.

### The heaviest military burden in the world

Context for these figures is provided by a report from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI): Ukraine bears the heaviest military burden in the world. In 2024, defense spending reached 34 percent of GDP, compared with 3.8 percent in 2015, and $64.7 billion was spent on the army — 2.9 percent more than the year before. For comparison, according to calculations by Newsweek back in 2022, the war cost Russia approximately $900 million a day, including payments to soldiers, ammunition, and equipment repairs.

### Call for faster action by allies

Podlasa linked the continued growth in spending to the pragmatic necessity for the United States and Europe to act faster to force Russia to end the war. In her words, the longer the conflict, the higher the daily price of defense for the Ukrainian budget, and the greater the dependence on external support in kind and financial forms.

## 🔍 Fact-Check Verification

- [One day of war costs Ukraine $190 million, and this is far from the limit, says MP](https://www.rbc.ua/ukr/news/odin-den-viyni-koshtue-ukrayini-190-milyoniv-1789381592.html) - Единственный источник: заявление Р. Подласой (глава бюджетного комитета ВР) о 190 млн $/день в 2026, 140 млн $/день в 2024, 42 млрд $ расходов за 8 мес., 39 млрд $ собственный ресурс, 27 млрд $ доп. потребность, 1,35 млрд $ недополученный НДС; данные SIPRI (34% ВВП, 64,7 млрд $ в 2024) и Newsweek (900 млн $/день для РФ в 2022) приведены как контекст. Цифры не перепроверены независимой статистикой.

## ❓ FAQ

### Q: How much does one day of war cost Ukraine in 2026?
**A:** According to an estimate by Roksolana Podlasa, head of the Verkhovna Rada budget committee, in 2026 one day of war costs the state budget $190 million in its own expenditures, excluding weapons provided by allies.

### Q: How has the cost of a day of war changed compared to 2024?
**A:** In 2024, this figure stood at $140 million a day, meaning it has grown by roughly a third over two years.

### Q: Why is Ukraine's budget unable to cover defense spending for the first time?
**A:** Over the eight months of 2026, about $42 billion was spent on defense, while own resources (budget revenues and domestic bonds) amounted to only $39 billion. The defense forces declare an additional need of $27 billion by the end of the year.

### Q: What losses is the budget suffering due to strikes on the economy?
**A:** According to Podlasa, the budget lost $1.35 billion in domestic and import VAT over the eight-month period, with a quarter of that amount lost in August.

### Q: What is Ukraine's military burden according to SIPRI data?
**A:** SIPRI notes that Ukraine bears the heaviest military burden in the world: in 2024, defense spending reached 34% of GDP (compared with 3.8% in 2015), and $64.7 billion was spent on the army.