Cash expenditures of Ukraine’s general fund state budget in October 2025 amounted to UAH 312.6 billion, which is UAH 33.6 billion, or 10.7%, more than in October 2024, according to the Ministry of Finance.
According to the Ministry of Finance, in January-October 2025, general fund expenditures reached UAH 3.16 trillion, exceeding the figure for the same period last year by UAH 507.2 billion, or 19.1%.
“General fund expenditures of the state budget for security and defense in January-October 2025 amounted to UAH 2 trillion, or 63.3% of all general fund expenditures. In particular, UAH 220.6 billion was spent in October,” the report said.
A month earlier, UAH 210.8 billion was allocated to security and defense, with total general fund expenditures of UAH 312.6 billion, indicating continued growth in monthly defense payments.
At the same time, for the sixth time in a row, the Ministry of Finance does not disclose more detailed items of military expenditures in its operational report – data on payments of monetary support to military personnel, purchases of military equipment, weapons, ammunition, and defense products, as well as separate transfers to the National Health Service of Ukraine (NHSU), the Pension Fund, and the Entrepreneurship Development Fund.
At the same time, according to Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko, speaking in the Verkhovna Rada on September 19, the monthly level of monetary support for the military in 2025 will increase significantly. “January – UAH 78.8 billion, February – UAH 86 billion, March – UAH 86 billion, April – UAH 91 billion, May – UAH 97 billion, and August also UAH 98 billion,” the minister said.
In October 2024, the Ministry of Finance reported the payment of UAH 86 billion in monetary support, which allows us to assess the scale of growth in military payments against the backdrop of the ongoing full-scale war.
The largest share of cash expenditures from Ukraine’s general fund budget for January-October 2025 was spent on wages and benefits, amounting to UAH 1.26 trillion, according to the Ministry of Finance.
According to the Ministry of Finance, in October, UAH 133.1 billion was allocated to wages and accruals, which is 39.9% of the total expenditures of the general fund for the month. Compared to the same period in 2024, labor costs increased by UAH 220.7 billion, or 21.2%, over ten months, including UAH 19.9 billion, or 17.6%, in October.
Expenditures on goods and services for January-October 2025 amounted to UAH 458 billion, including UAH 60.7 billion in October, or 14.5% of the total. In the first ten months of 2024, these expenditures amounted to UAH 416.9 billion, including UAH 53 billion in October, which indicates a significant increase in purchases of goods and services for the budget sector.
In January-October, UAH 524.4 billion, or 16.6% of all general fund expenditures, was allocated to social security—the payment of pensions, benefits, and scholarships. This is UAH 58.4 billion, or 12.5% more than in the same period last year. At the same time, in October 2025, social expenditures were lower than a year earlier—UAH 49.4 billion versus UAH 54.2 billion.
Expenditures on subsidies and current transfers to enterprises, institutions, and organizations for ten months amounted to UAH 384.4 billion, or 12.1% of the total, including UAH 37.3 billion in October. Compared to January-October 2024, these expenditures increased by UAH 117.9 billion, or 44.2%, reflecting the expansion of support for certain sectors of the economy and critical infrastructure.
Servicing the national debt cost the general fund of the state budget UAH 279.9 billion, or 8.8% of all expenditures, in the first ten months of 2025. In October, UAH 33.6 billion was allocated for these purposes. This is UAH 36.3 billion more than in the same period last year, which is due to both an increase in the volume of debt and a change in borrowing conditions.
Finally, UAH 156.3 billion, or 4.9% of general fund expenditures for January-October, was used for transfers to local budgets, including UAH 16.9 billion in October. Compared to the first ten months of 2024, these expenditures increased by UAH 9.3 billion, or 6.3%.
Ukraine’s state budget revenues for January-October 2025 amounted to UAH 2.97 trillion, including general fund revenues of UAH 2.11 trillion, which is 26.4% and 26.1% higher than in the same period of 2024, according to the Ministry of Finance.
At the end of 2024, general fund revenues increased by UAH 513.9 billion, or 30.9%, to UAH 2 trillion 177 billion, while general fund expenditures increased by UAH 454.5 billion, or 15%, to UAH 3 trillion 488.8 billion, according to data from the Ministry of Finance.
Initially, the 2025 state budget was approved with revenues of UAH 2 trillion 327.1 billion, including general fund revenues of UAH 2 trillion 133.3 billion (excluding grants and international aid), and expenditures of UAH 3 trillion 929.1 billion, of which UAH 3 trillion 591.6 billion was allocated to the general fund.
At the end of July, the Verkhovna Rada, at the government’s suggestion, increased the 2025 state budget expenditures by UAH 400.5 billion and revenues by UAH 147.5 billion. In October, parliament approved an additional increase in expenditures of UAH 324.7 billion for the national security and defense sector, while increasing revenues by UAH 20 billion.
Taking into account the changes made, the revenues of the 2025 state budget (excluding grants) are now planned to amount to UAH 2 trillion 482.6 billion, while expenditures are planned to amount to UAH 4 trillion 337.5 billion. The general fund is expected to have revenues of UAH 2 trillion 278.7 billion and expenditures of UAH 3 trillion 990.1 billion.
Thus, the formally projected deficit of the 2025 state budget, excluding grants and international aid, is about UAH 1.85 trillion, and the deficit of the general fund is about UAH 1.71 trillion, a significant part of which, according to the Ministry of Finance, is directed to financing the security and defense sector.
Ukrainian banks earned UAH 119.4 billion in net profit in the first nine months of 2025, which is 1.9% more than in the same period of 2024, the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) reported on Friday.
“In the third quarter, active lending remained a key factor supporting banks’ profitability,” the regulator said on its website, according to which net profit for the third quarter was the same as in the first two: UAH 39.9 billion against UAH 40.0 billion in the second quarter and UAH 39.5 billion in the first.
As noted by the NBU, net interest income grew by 15.0% over the first nine months of this year to UAH 198.42 billion, while net commission income grew by 9.9% to UAH 45.94 billion.
At the same time, the result of the revaluation of government bonds and currency purchase and sale transactions decreased by almost 31% to UAH 21.37 billion, while total administrative expenses increased by 19.7% to UAH 93.64 billion.
Over the first nine months of last year, banks increased their provisions by UAH 1.81 billion, while over the same period this year, they more than tripled to UAH 5.87 billion.
In the overall structure of banks’ income and expenses for the first three quarters of this year, the share of interest income increased to 71.1% from 68.7% a year earlier, while the share of interest expenses decreased to 33.5% from 33.7%.
As for the share of commission income, it also increased over the nine months of this year to 21.5% from 21.3% a year earlier, with the share of commission expenses decreasing to 14.7% from 14.8%.
At the same time, the share of general administrative expenses increased to 31.0% from 29.8%.
Income tax for the reporting period amounted to UAH 11.50 billion, compared to UAH 13.40 billion a year earlier.
“Despite sufficient capital levels, banks may face additional risks due to the introduction of an increased income tax rate in 2026,” the National Bank noted.
As reported, on October 21, 2025, the Verkhovna Rada adopted in the first reading bill No. 14097 on the return of the increased tax rate on bank profits at the level of 50% during 2026. 262 people’s deputies voted for the corresponding decision.
According to Serbian Economist, Serbia and Ukraine are intensifying cooperation in agriculture, trade, and technology exchange.
The Serbian side confirmed its interest in expanding imports of Ukrainian agricultural products, especially corn, wheat, oilseeds, and semi-finished products for the food industry. At the same time, they discussed increasing supplies of Serbian goods to the Ukrainian market, including meat, dairy products, feed, and planting material.
According to the Serbian Ministry of Agriculture, Kyiv and Belgrade are considering the possibility of creating joint logistics corridors that would allow them to bypass existing transit restrictions and speed up the movement of goods between the countries. Special attention was paid to the topic of plant protection, veterinary standards, and simplifying certification procedures for producers in both countries.
The parties also noted the potential for cooperation in the development of digital agriculture and agrotechnologies. Ukraine offered Serbian companies an exchange of practices on the use of drones, remote monitoring systems, and AI analytics to optimize agricultural production. The Serbian delegation, in turn, expressed its willingness to share its experience in organic farming and agricultural raw material processing.
During the meeting, the prospects for Serbian companies’ participation in programs to restore Ukraine’s agricultural infrastructure, including the modernization of grain storage, processing facilities, and logistics, were also discussed.
The negotiations are taking place against the backdrop of growing trade turnover: in recent years, the volume of bilateral trade in agricultural products has shown steady growth, and Serbia is becoming one of Ukraine’s key Balkan partners in the region.
The next meeting of the relevant ministries is expected to take place in early 2026, where the parties plan to present a roadmap for deepening cooperation in the agricultural sector.
On Saturday, November 22, in Zakarpattya, Lviv and Ivano-Frankivsk regions heavy rain and wet snow, in the western regions of sticking wet snow, ice, on the roads icy; in the Carpathians heavy wet snow, warns Ukrhydrometcenter.
“November 22 in Zakarpattya, Lviv and Ivano-Frankivsk regions significant precipitation (rain and wet snow), in the western regions of the sticking of wet snow, ice, on the roads icy (I level of danger, yellow); in the Carpathians heavy wet snow (II level of danger, orange)”, – stated in the message of the Ukrainian hydrometeorological center.
It is noted that weather conditions may lead to complications in the work of energy, construction, utility companies and disruption of traffic on roads and streets (I level of threat, yellow), on the passes of the Carpathians (II level of threat, orange).
