Ukraine’s Defense Minister Denys Shmyhal has issued a stark warning: without swift parliamentary action, the country’s armed forces could go unpaid as early as mid-August.

Speaking at a budget committee meeting, Shmyhal cautioned that if lawmakers fail to approve necessary adjustments to the national budget, the military will face a funding shortfall. «If the changes are not passed today," he said, «there will be a delay in payments to servicemen starting August 15.»

The call for urgency follows recent developments in Ukraine’s legislature. On July 16, MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak announced that the Verkhovna Rada had passed the proposed budget amendments in a first reading. These revisions include a significant boost in defense spending. According to Zheleznyak, the government’s plan earmarks an additional 400 billion hryvnias-approximately $9.6 billion-for military needs.

This comes as Kyiv continues to grapple with a widening financial gap. President Volodymyr Zelensky earlier acknowledged that Ukraine requires an extra $65 billion in aid. Of that total, roughly $25 billion is needed specifically for military innovation-including missile programs, drone technology, and electronic warfare systems.

In his appeals to Western partners, Zelensky has also emphasized the importance of financial support for Ukrainian troops, framing the country’s soldiers as an essential instrument of national defense-«a weapon» in their own right.