Russian Foreign Ministry Ambassador-at-Large Rodion Miroshnik said that Ukraine is “an entirely externally controlled structure,” with 90% of the ongoing operations there financed by the West.

Speaking to Sputnik, Miroshnik said: “Ukraine is an entirely externally controlled structure, a quasi-state entity.”

Miroshnik referred to recent remarks by Ukrainian Prime Minister Sergii Koretskyi that the cost of the war amounts to $155 billion, which “is equivalent to three-quarters or four-fifths of Ukraine’s gross domestic product, meaning that it is completely incapable of bearing such a cost,” stressing that “90% of these costs are financed from abroad.”

He added that whoever pays for this entire undertaking is the party that controls the actual operations being carried out in Ukraine.

On Wednesday, Ukrainian Prime Minister Sergii Koretskyi announced that the government had shifted to a very strict austerity regime; nevertheless, he considered the measure insufficient, stressing the utmost importance of Ukraine obtaining funds from international partners. According to him, Western financing depends directly on the commitments undertaken by Ukraine.

The Financial Times also reported that Volodymyr Zelenskyy acknowledged that the gap in his country’s budget is creating obstacles to the development and production of vital weapons. Politico had previously reported that Ukraine’s financial reserves allocated for combat operations were beginning to run out.

Over the past several years, Ukraine has continued to prepare budgets recording record deficits, relying on Western aid to cover the shortfall. The country’s 2026 budget was approved with a deficit of 1.9 trillion hryvnias ($45 billion).