SOCIAL POLICY DURING WAR: INTERNATIONAL ASSISTANCE FOR SOCIAL FINANCING

Abstract

The article is devoted to the analysis of the sources of financing social expenses in the conditions of a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The changes that occurred in the structure of expenditures of the state budget of Ukraine were analyzed. It has been proven that in the conditions of a dramatic increase in military expenditures, the share of expenditures on social protection and social security has significantly decreased. Expenditures on social protection and social security decreased from 22.77% of all expenditures of the state budget of Ukraine in pre-war 2021 to 8.28% in 2025. At the same time, defense spending during the same period increased from 8.56% of state budget expenditures to 56.09%.. The study showed that if before the war the share of spending on social protection and social security exceeded the share of defense spending by 2.6 times, then in 2025 the share of spending on war will exceed the share of spending on social security by almost 7 times. In conditions where Ukraine earns its own defense needs, the social part of the state budget is supported mainly thanks to external financial aid through the activities of foreign governments and various international organizations. The role of leading Western countries and international financial institutions in ensuring and maintaining social standards in Ukraine is revealed. The sequence of the formation of the international aid system, starting from the first days of the military invasion, is determined. The essential role of UNICEF in providing dispassionate financial support to people affected by the war under the Humanitarian Cash Payments Program, which provides multi-purpose financial assistance to vulnerable families with children who suffer from the war and need financial support to meet basic needs, is substantiated. The conclusion is substantiated that in these conditions the problem of effective use of the received international aid becomes especially acute, because its source is taxes paid in the donor countries. In addition, it is necessary to ensure the targeted and effective use of the received credit funds, the sums of which increase the debt burden on the state budget.