Priorities of budget policy under martial law and post-war recovery of Ukraine
Authors:   Accounting Chamber of Ukraine, RADIONOV Yurii 
Published: November 2023

Introduction. Various financial and economic crises, shocks, including the introduction of martial law, affect the state of implementation and fundamentally change the priorities of budget policy, and therefore require timely adjustment of the main directions and macro indicators. Fiscal risks are increasing, exogenous and endogenous factors are exerting a powerful influence on the financial and budgetary system, which requires special attention to the analysis of the state of formation of budget revenues, determination of priorities, rational distribution and effective use of budget expenditures. Problem Statement. Budgetary policy under martial law has not been sufficiently studied. The outlined problems require in-depth study, as this policy must be rational, efficient, effective, take into account the conditions of the war and foresee real ways of further development in the post-war period. The purpose is to develop an algorithm for further development, to form an effective mechanism for the distribution and redistribution of budget funds, to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of budget policy during the recovery period of Ukraine based on an analysis of its priorities in war conditions, their features, expediency and justification. Methods. General scientific and special methods are used: analysis, synthesis, grouping, description, comparison, theoretical generalization and abstract-logical. Results. During the war, the issue of the effectiveness of the management of the country's financial resources becomes relevant. The analysis of the structure of budget expenditures demonstrates the priorities of the budget policy within the concentrated volume of financial resources, the possibilities of the state or local budgets for financing activities, the corresponding category of expenditures. In 2022, there were significant changes in budget policy priorities, caused by a full-scale Russian invasion and the need for a significant increase in funding for the security and defense sector. There was a problem with servicing the state debt and the impossibility of filling the revenue part of the state and local budgets to form the appropriate level of expenditures, which is a characteristic feature of a country whose economy is engulfed in war. The analysis of expenditures by types of budgets and the structure of the consolidated budget by functional classification shows that the priorities of the budget policy in peacetime and in the conditions of martial law are different. The hypothesis regarding the differentiation of the budget by military significance is put forward and substantiated. Conclusions. If before the war, the priorities of budget policy were the post-pandemic recovery of the economy and the direction of investments in the country's future, now - ensuring defense capability and stable functioning. Redirecting a significant amount of financial resources to the needs of the security and defense sector of Ukraine is an appropriate, justified and justified step. In the post-war period, the priorities of budget policy will change, based on those tasks and goals, which will be determined by medium- and long-term programs for the recovery and development of Ukraine. At the same time, the task of increasing the potential of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the development of the military-industrial complex will continue to be a priority area of budget policy. In order to increase the effectiveness of budget policy and its effectiveness, it is necessary to reform outdated methods and approaches to managing budget expenditures, introduce full-fledged medium-term budget planning, constantly analyze the tasks and goals of budget programs, achieve the planned results, and on this basis develop proposals regarding the features of the further implementation of these programs in planned and subsequent budget periods.