Rada adopts state budget for 2026 in 1st reading

The Verkhovna Rada adopted the state budget for 2026 in the first reading. 256 MPs voted for the adoption of the relevant draft resolution No. 14000/P, with the minimum required 226, Ukrainian News Agency reports.

In particular, with this resolution, the Verkhovna Rada approved its conclusions and proposals to the bill on the state budget for 2026 as the Budget Conclusions of the Verkhovna Rada, instructed the Cabinet of Ministers to prepare the bill on the state budget for 2026 for the second reading in accordance with these conclusions and submit it for consideration by the Verkhovna Rada within two weeks.

The conclusions of the Verkhovna Rada on the 2026 state budget, prepared by the budget committee, include the government's proposals:

to consider the possibility of increasing defense spending, in particular, on weapons for the Armed Forces of Ukraine, on providing the Alpha unit of the Security Service of Ukraine and the Foreign Intelligence Service;

to submit a bill on special pensions (to establish unified approaches to retirement and indexation of pensions for such persons on general terms);

to increase spending on housing for internally displaced persons;

to develop a new model of remuneration for secondary school teachers, providing for its increase by 50%; to take measures to increase from January 1, 2026 (in stages during the year by 50%) the level of remuneration for pedagogical and scientific-pedagogical employees of higher education institutions; to allocate UAH 500 million to ensure the material and technical base of relocated higher education institutions from front-line territories;

consider the possibility of providing an additional UAH 15 billion for the purchase of medicines for patients with achondroplasia and autoimmune diseases of the nervous system and neuromuscular diseases;

at least UAH 2 billion to be allocated additionally for humanitarian demining of agricultural lands;

provide UAH 1 billion for a new area of ​​support - for partial compensation for property losses of businesses as a result of the war;

consider the possibility of providing additional funds for providing grants to entrepreneurs for the construction of vegetable and potato storage facilities, for grants to veterans to start their own business, for partial compensation for agricultural machinery, as well as additional funds to support agricultural producers.

The MPs also supported the amendment to extend the benefit for electric cars for another 1 year (until 2027).

In November, the Government is to submit to the Verkhovna Rada the final text of the law on the state budget for 2026.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, on September 15, the Cabinet of Ministers approved the draft state budget for 2026 and submitted it to the Verkhovna Rada for approval. The total expenditures of the 2026 state budget will amount to UAH 4.8 trillion, it provides for an increase in spending on security and defense to UAH 2.8 trillion, or 27.2% of GDP, which is UAH 168.6 billion more compared to 2025. The MPs proposed amendments to the draft state budget for 2026 for UAH 7 trillion - this is an additional one and a half budgets.

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