Great Britain Ukrainians should pay more taxes for war

The Ukrainians are to pay a higher military tax in future to finance the fight against the Russian war of aggression, according to the government.

According to the plans, the tax could rise from 1.5 to 5 percent of income, government representatives in Kiev announced. Other tax increases, borrowing and the reallocation of expenditure in the budget are also expected to raise an additional 500 billion hryvnia (around 12.4 billion euros) to finance the armed forces, they said.

The cabinet of ministers in Kiev approved a draft law to amend the state budget and the tax law. The tax increases alone are expected to raise the equivalent of around 3.4 billion euros. According to the plans, a military tax of 30 percent will also be payable on the sale of jewelry, for example. A 15 percent tax is to be levied on car purchases.

The additional spending on defense is primarily intended to cover payments for soldiers and other military personnel as well as the purchase of military equipment. The new mobilization in the country with the forced recruitment of soldiers will also lead to higher costs. This is because the additional fighters have to be paid.

Ministry: additional expenditure should bring victory closer

Ukraine had previously budgeted the equivalent of 42.2 billion euros in defense spending for 2024, which is now set to increase by almost 30 percent. The changes still have to be approved by parliament and then signed by President Volodymyr Zelensky before they come into force.

"The needs in the security and defense sector are growing," said a statement from the Ministry of Finance in justification of the additional expenditure with a view to the third year of war. "To finance our resistance against the aggressor, we can rely on our own resources - and the most important are taxes and borrowing in the country. This will protect our security and bring us closer to victory."

Selensky meets British arms manufacturers

Ukraine also wants to expand its own production of weapons, ammunition and armaments. To do this, the country is also dependent on help from investors from abroad. During his visit to the UK, Zelensky met with representatives of arms companies there. "We discussed joint defense production with the main focus on ammunition, air defense systems, artillery, armored vehicles and drones," he announced on the social network X.

Zelensky had repeatedly stated that he wanted to make Ukraine one of the largest arms producers in the world. He now praised the United Kingdom in particular - also following a meeting with King Charles III - as the first country in Europe to hand over heavy weapons, tanks and long-range missiles to Ukraine. The UK was also the first country to sign a security agreement with Ukraine. "And we are deepening our cooperation in the defense sector even further," said Selenskyj.

He had previously used the European summit in the UK to reinforce his call for more support in defending against Russian air attacks. At the meeting of almost 50 heads of state and government near Oxford, he urged the Western allies to use their own means to shoot down Russian missiles and drones over Ukraine. "There must be a collective will to shoot them down, just as there was with Iranian missiles and drones (with Israel)," he said.

More than 100 battles in the war zone

As of Thursday evening, there had been more than 100 battles between Ukrainian and Russian troops on the frontline within 24 hours, according to the General Staff in Kiev. Russia is continuing to carry out missile and drone strikes against Ukraine. The Kharkiv region and the cities of Prokrovsk, Kurakhove and Torezk in the Donetsk region were particularly affected, it said.

SDA