THE IMPACT OF WAR ON BUDGET TRANSPARENCY IN UKRAINE

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to address current issues of budget transparency as a crucial tool for contemporary public financial management, promoting efficiency, accountability, and public engagement in the budgeting process. It emphasizes the importance of transparency for reducing corruption, enhancing public trust in government, strengthening social stability, and ensuring effective assessment of budgetary expenditures. The primary challenges to budget transparency in Ukraine, significantly exacerbated by the full-scale Russian invasion, have been analyzed. The deterioration of Ukraine’s position in international rankings, particularly the Open Budget Index and SIGMA, has been highlighted due to restricted access to budget information and the temporary suspension of standard budgetary procedures under martial law conditions. The conducted analysis of the invasion’s impact on Ukraine’s budget transparency as an essential component of modern public financial management – ensuring efficiency, accountability, and citizen participation – enabled the formulation of recommendations for enhancing budget transparency based on international standards and best practices. During the research, the following research methods were utilized: the systemic approach, as well as methods of factual and situational analysis and synthesis, to evaluate budget transparency based on international indices and rankings. The research findings indicate positive achievements in the field of budget transparency that have remained relevant even under wartime conditions. These include the continued functioning of the electronic public procurement system, regular publication of data by the State Treasury Service of Ukraine, and the successful launch of the DREAM platform, which collects, organizes, and publishes open data on all stages of recovery projects in real-time, implementing high standards of transparency and accountability. However, the study also revealed a number of persistent problems, such as limited access to budgetary information, insufficient public participation in the budgeting process, and low transparency of local budgets. Although Ukraine has made significant progress in advancing budget transparency, considering the current challenges and wartime impacts, further measures should aim at improving the legal framework, enhancing public oversight, and increasing citizen involvement. Special emphasis should be placed on restoring full public access to budgetary information and expanding the use of innovative digital tools. The value of the research lies in the recommendations provided for improving budget transparency during martial law and post-war recovery periods by refining the regulatory framework, increasing public involvement, strengthening oversight, and utilizing modern digital solutions.