The daily cost of the war to Ukraine reached $190 million in 2026
Ukraine is preparing for a harsh winter, as intensifying Russian attacks on the country’s infrastructure and key export industries are exacerbating an already deepening fiscal crisis, Ukrainian officials said Saturday.
Economy Minister Oleksandr Kravchenko stated that damage to infrastructure from Russian airstrikes is estimated at nearly $10 billion, since the beginning of the year alone, while the broader economic cost of the attacks and the de facto blockade of the country’s ports is estimated at approximately 1.5 percentage points of Gross Domestic Product.
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“We are expecting a very difficult winter, both in terms of critical infrastructure —which is being destroyed daily by Russian attacks—as well as in terms of the country’s overall economic situation,” Kravchenko said.
“All of this is happening at a time when the budget and fiscal leeway are extremely limited,” he said, addressing investors, officials, and diplomats at the YES conference in Kyiv.
For more than two weeks now, Russia has been launching nearly nonstop attacks on Kyiv using faster jet-powered drones, disrupting daily life, business operations, and the functioning of government services.
Moscow has also effectively blockaded Ukrainian ports on the Black Sea, intensifying its airstrikes on the southern regions of the country.
Export revenues totaling approximately $40 billion are at risk due to the blockade, Kravchenko said. Ukraine’s main export products—agricultural products, iron, and steel—are shipped through its Black Sea ports.
Shortfall in Budget Revenues
As Russian attacks cause damage to infrastructure and industry, domestic budget revenues have begun to come under pressure.
Domestic revenue fell short by $1.35 billion during the first eight months of the year, with a quarter of those losses occurring in August alone, said the head of the parliamentary budget committee.
She added that the war is becoming increasingly costly and that Ukraine can no longer fully cover its defense needs with domestic resources, as had been the case in previous years.
Ukraine spent approximately $42 billion on defense during the first eight months of the year, excluding military aid in kind.
However, domestic revenue and domestic borrowing yielded only $39 billion during this period, Pintlasa said.
“Unfortunately, this year the war has become so costly that we cannot even cover our share of the costs,” she said at the conference.
The daily cost of the war has risen to about $190 million this year, compared to $140 million in 2024, due to inflation, an increase in troop numbers, rising social benefits for the families of fallen soldiers, and higher ammunition consumption, she added.
Ukraine faces an additional funding shortfall for its defense by the end of this year. The government is seeking ways to cut or postpone non-military budget expenditures and is negotiating with its Western partners to secure additional financial support, but so far no clear and immediate solution has been found.
Source: in.gr
