Ukraine’s two deficits: A $27 billion defense shortfall and Russian ballistic missiles

According to newly appointed Prime Minister Serhii Koretskyi, Ukraine must implement wide-ranging budget cuts in the coming weeks, ‘19fortyfive’ site reports.

Unless lawmakers in parliament adopt unpopular changes, the country will be unable to access billions in Western aid ahead of the coming winter.

Due to Russia’s intensified strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, this winter is projected to see the worst heating and electricity shortfalls since the war began.

But worse than the unpreparedness for the winter months is that the state faces an unexpected $27 billion budget gap for defense requirements that Ukrainian officials say must be filled by year’s end.

A months-long deadlock in parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, has already delayed close to $4 billion in European Union assistance that was scheduled to arrive in the third quarter of this year, the PM told Bloomberg News.

The government issued its warnings after failing to move the legislation forward through parliament.

These bills must be passed and enacted in accordance with Ukraine’s commitments to the International Monetary Fund.

Among these measures is a bill imposing a highly unpopular and controversial parcel tax, which some interpret as targeting lower-income segments of the population.

Another gap, and one that is widening by the day, is the one between the number of missiles Russia can churn out of its production lines and the number of interceptors Ukraine has on hand to shoot them down.

Since late August, almost daily waves of missiles and drones have been raining down on Ukraine’s capital and other cities.

Ukraine’s air defenses are increasingly unable to cope with the number of missiles coming from Russia’s expanding arsenal.

The Ukrainian leader is asking them to be provided from US and European nations’ stockpiles. There is simply no time to manufacture them in the numbers needed in the months ahead.

In the past weeks, Russia has ramped up its production and use of jet-powered drones, practically doubling the numbers launched from July to August.

Patriot missiles are not needed to take down these drones, which can evade Ukraine’s defenses more effectively, but they do require more sophisticated short-range interceptors, such as the Diehl IRIS-T IR-guided missile.

Failure to pass these bills by the required deadlines could cost the country billions, Koretskyi said. In particular, Ukraine could lose out on “a significant portion” of $29.5 billion in planned funds.

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