JRL NEWSWATCH: “Ukraine scrambles to fill U.S. funding gap” – Financial Times
“Kyiv in talks with Japan and Canada for extra aid as Zelenskyy government considers spending cuts and tax hikes”
“… [D]eadlock in … Congress over a $60bn aid package for Ukraine has left Kyiv desperately looking for alternative donors …. Ukraine has allocated nearly half of its $87bn budget … to defence-related expenditure, but its domestic revenues are just $46bn, meaning it needs to cover the gap with [international] help … and by reducing … non-military spending. The deficit [will] be further widened by … up to 500,000 [expected] recruits, with billions more needed for … salaries, training and equipment. …”
According to Ukrainian parliamentary budget committee chair Roksolana Pidlasa, Ukraine is negotiating with additional G7 countries for more budgetary support, including Japan and Canada, while also considering non-military budget cuts and tax increases.