During the discussion panel “2024: Challenges and Prospects,” Finance Minister Sergei Marchenko warned about the inevitability of a full transition to a military footing if the consumption of imported goods is not limited. This change will require tough measures for the entire society.
Ukraine is building its own military capabilities and developing military industries, which will determine the trend in 2024, Marchenko said. According to him, such changes can be considered a transition of the state’s economy to a war footing. If the war is longer and crosses 2025 and beyond, Ukraine will need to adapt to new conditions, Marchenko emphasized. According to the Minister of Finance, a full-fledged transition to a war footing is inevitable if the consumption of imported goods is not limited, which implies tough changes for the entire society.
“ I will say as Minister of Finance that the war effort is not only about the military industry, it is also about society’s understanding that we are at war. Unfortunately, for now we live in a rather specific reality, when everything is fine with us, macroeconomic and exchange rate stability. But this reality will require correction if we want to move on to a war footing. This is a restriction on public consumption. We need to reduce it several times, because we consume mainly imported goods and services, this determines our economic potential ,” Marchenko emphasized.
Today, society is not ready for such restrictions, but this is a potential scenario: “There may be other tax regimes, other spending regimes. We must prepare for this and, thinking about 2025, we must lay down appropriate scenarios,” Marchenko said.
On March 29, Finance Minister Sergei Marchenko said that Ukraine spends 130 billion hryvnia monthly on the military campaign , while budget revenues amount to 80 billion hryvnia.
there is no need to pay taxes on any goods for the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine .
On August 9, Marchenko said that Ukraine now has the lowest level of corruption in the last 20 years .
