Kornienko estimated the elections at UAH 10 billion. The money should be provided by partners

The upcoming elections in Ukraine should be financed by international partners. This opinion was expressed by the First Deputy Speaker of the Rada, the head of the Servant of the people Oleksandr Kornienko.

According to him, organizing elections in the current conditions will cost much more than before.

"These are billions of hryvnias. In 2019 and 2020, ordinary elections cost 2-3 billion. Now we are talking about maybe more than 10 billion. We need to understand that our partners have to fully provide for this," he said Kornienko, answering a question from News.LIVE.

On the air of the TV channel "Rada", during a broadcast from Davos, the politician said that one of the issues currently being discussed by the group preparing for the elections is the participation of Ukrainians abroad in voting.

"A huge challenge. More than 4 million voters are now abroad. We need to ensure that they have the right to choose in one form or another. Not all countries are even ready to do this," said the MP.

A separate issue, he noted, is the reform of the electoral infrastructure.

"6,000 polling stations are destroyed, and there is no access to them. This is a huge amount out of 30,000," Kornienko said.

In December, Deputy Chairman of the Central Election Commission Serhiy Dubovyk said in an interview with RBC-Ukraine that the upcoming elections will cost at least UAH 20 billion, including all related expenses.

The last presidential election in 2019 cost the budget about UAH 2 billion, but current estimates are much higher due to inflation and new conditions. According to the CEC's basic estimates, adjusted for inflation, parliamentary and local elections cost an average of UAH 4–5 billion. The presidential campaign, in the case of a second round of voting, is one and a half times more expensive.

At the same time, about 70% of all expenses are accounted for by the salaries of members of district, precinct, and territorial election commissions. These amounts do not include the costs of local self-government bodies for the preparation of polling stations, premises, and material support.

Chairman of the CEC Oleh Didenko, in an interview with Reuters, promised to ensure voting rights for those who will come to vote from the occupied territories. According to him, 2,000 polling stations out of 30,000 were destroyed or damaged during the war in Ukraine.

• On December 9, 2025, US President Donald Trump, amid negotiations on a peace plan, said that it was time to hold elections in Ukraine, as they "have not been held for a very long time".
• Reacting to this, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that he was "always ready for elections" and later called on the United States to ensure appropriate security conditions for voting.
• On December 23, for the first time since the beginning of the Great War, the State Register of Voters resumed operation.