Chernihiv region – The Ukrainian army will receive Hr 1.5 billion in 2013 to buy new and upgrade the existing weapons.
This year’s budget envisages Hr 1 billion for buying new weapons for the army, and Hr 500 million for the repair of the existing weapons and military equipment, Defense Minister Pavlo Lebedev said at a briefing at the Desna military training center in Chernihiv region.
“The president was also offered to allocate the additional Hr 1.8 billion for the armament,” he said.
He said that Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych has issued relevant instructions concerning the allocation of these funds.
According to Lebedev, the Defense Ministry will receive more than Hr 1 billion in additional funding in 2013.
“Funding for this year is provided in the amount of Hr 15 billion. The army is expected to experience underfunding due to loan debt of Hr 1.2 billion as of Jan. 1 of this year,” he said.
Lebedev noted that the president approved the necessary documents for the allocation of this amount and gave appropriate instructions to the cabinet to provide the necessary funding for 2013.
