- Sputnik International
World
Get the latest news from around the world, live coverage, off-beat stories, features and analysis.

Kiev to Restore Air Defense System, Spend $333Mln on Arms Procurement in 2017

© AP Photo / Irina GorbasevaUkrainian President Petro Poroshenko, examines the construction of fortifications in Donetsk region, Ukraine (File)
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, examines the construction of fortifications in Donetsk region, Ukraine (File) - Sputnik International
Subscribe
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said that the restoration of the Ukrainian air defense system in 2017 will become a vital priority for the country.

KIEV (Sputnik) — Ukraine is planning to allocate almost $333 million on the development and procurement of weapons in 2017, while the restoration of national air defense system will become the main priority for the country, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said Wednesday.

"This year 9 billion hryvnas will be allocated to the development and procurement of the new and modernized weapons and military equipment. Ukraine has never done that before," Poroshenko said at a session of the Ukrainian senior military officials.

U.S. Air Force Gen. Philip Breedlove, former commander of the U.S. European Command and Supreme Allied Commander for Europe, arrives to testify before a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, April 30, 2015 - Sputnik International
US Should Supply Ukraine With Lethal Defensive Weapons - Breedlove
The restoration of the Ukrainian air defense system in 2017 will become a vital priority for the country, the president added.

Kiev is clashing with eastern Ukrainian militia in the Donbas region, with its military budget at a post-Soviet high and coming to around 5 percent GDP in 2015. In 2016, Defense Minister Stepan Poltorak said the budget had quadrupled since 2014 as the military rearmed with the aim of fully upgrading by 2020. The country has also been receiving hundreds of millions of dollars in defense and security assistance from the United States.

Newsfeed
0
To participate in the discussion
log in or register
loader
Chats
Заголовок открываемого материала