Ukraine spends $100 million per day on war, says Reznikov
Oleksiy Reznikov (Photo:REUTERS/Gleb Garanich)
Outgoing Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov has revealed that Russia’s ongoing full-scale invasion and war is costing Ukraine a staggering $100 million every day.
Asked why the country was acquiring drones
through citizen donations rather than the budget, Reznikov responded, “I’m not
authorized to disclose contract specifics.”
“What I can confirm is that only 30 different models of Ukrainian drones, including reconnaissance, combat, and kamikaze models, have received official approval for deployment, with 10 of them being FPV drone models,” Reznikov told Ukrainian news agency Ukrinform on Sept. 3.
Production volumes would depend on the
capabilities of the manufacturers, he added.
“How many they are capable of producing – all
that will be ours. We will purchase everything they produce using state funds.”
Reznikov emphasized that the donations from
volunteers, received from Feb. 24, 2022, until today, constitute just 3% of the
total resources allocated for the war effort.
“Now, consider the budgets of all the
well-established large volunteer organizations and observe their collections.
Then, consider the state, which is expending $100 million each day in total. Think
about that,” he said.
Reznikov
said it would not be fair to accuse the state, including local leaders,
parliament, government, and the president, of depending on volunteers.
“That’s not the reality,” said Reznikov.
“In truth, it is the Ukrainian citizens who
are supporting this effort, those who work, pay taxes, and contribute to the
budget, a portion of which is allocated to the armed forces.”
“Currently, the military is the recipient
of most of these funds,” he said.
Reznikov officially tendered his resignation to the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine’s parliament, on Sept. 4.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has
since nominated Rustem Umerov, the current head of the State Property Fund, as Reznikov’s successor. This transition is slated to occur later this week.
Commenting on the change, the president
said there was a need for “novel approaches and different modes of engagement
with both the military and society at large” within the Ministry of Defense.
The ministry has in recent months been
rocked by scandals involving food and clothing procurement at allegedly
inflated prices. While there is no indication that Reznikov was involved in the
scandals, rumors of his pending resignation have been swirling for months.
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