Budget bill withdrawn after first reading, new draft to be introduced
Photo: Press service of the Verkhovna Rada

The leadership of the Verkhovna Rada has decided to withdraw draft budget law No. 13439-3, which had already passed its first reading. Instead, a new bill will be submitted for a single, final vote, according to Roksolana Pidlasa, head of the parliamentary budget committee.

"During political consultations yesterday, it was decided that amendments to draft law No. 13439-3 cannot be considered by parliament today. Meanwhile, the critical issue of paying military salaries in August remains unresolved. Therefore, this morning, a new bill—No. 13573—was registered. It proposes amendments to the 2025 state budget, focusing exclusively on increased defense expenditures," Pidlasa wrote on Facebook.

The new bill allocates an additional UAH 412.5 billion for defense (about UAH 200 million less than in the previous version), including UAH 115 billion for military salaries and UAH 216 billion for the procurement of weapons and equipment.

Additionally, it changes the distribution formula for personal income tax (PIT) paid by military personnel.

In November 2023, the Rada reallocated this so-called "military PIT" from local to central government budgets as follows:

  • 45% – to the State Service of Special Communications and Information Protection for drone procurement
  • 45% – to the Ministry of Defense for drones, weapons, and military equipment
  • 10% – to military units, proportional to the PIT they paid

Starting August 1, the new distribution will be:

  • 30% – to the State Service of Special Communications and Information Protection (for drones)
  • 60% – to the Ministry of Defense (for drones, weapons, and equipment)
  • 10% – to military units (proportional to PIT paid)

"I urge my colleagues to support the bill in full to ensure timely salary payments to our servicemen," Pidlasa said.

  • For comparison, the withdrawn bill No. 13439-3 had proposed an increase of UAH 457 billion to the state budget. Besides defense, it also included UAH 26 billion for the reserve fund and UAH 15.5 billion for other urgent expenditures.