President Putin threatens to halt all energy shipments to Europe if Brussels goes ahead with a proposal to cap price of Russian gas, in a combative speech declaring Moscow would not lose fight in Ukraine – now in its 197th day.
A teenager rides a hoverboard past a destroyed Russian army tank in the village of Lukashivka, Chernihiv region, on September 7, 2022.
(AFP)
Thursday, September 8, 2022Zelenskyy: Ukraine focuses on defence in 2023 budget
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said next year's budget would be a "war budget", devoting $27.4 billion (more than a trillion hryvnias) to defence and security spending.
"More than a trillion hryvnias next year will go to the security and defense sector. This is going to be the number one priority," Zelenskyy said.
The government would present plans to reduce spending on state enterprises, officials and institutions that were deemed non-essential, he said.
Ukraine has estimated the costs of the war combined with lower tax revenues has left a $5 billion-a-month fiscal shortfall or 2.5 percent of pre-war GDP. Economists calculate that pushes the annual deficit to 25 percent of GDP, compared with just 3.5 percent before the conflict.
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Source: TRTWorld and agencies
