(VOVworld) - Ukraine will increase its budget spending for military modernization next year by 64 percent to about 445 million USD. Dmytro Gutsulyak, a spokesman for the Defence Ministry, was quoted as saying that the funds will go towards the development of weapons and military equipment.

Ukranian soldiers (illustrative photo: russia-insider.com)

Ukraine will also allocate some 112 million dollars from the 2017 budget to enhancing the combat capabilities of its military.
Last month, the Ukrainian government submitted to parliament a draft budget for 2017, which envisages that the country's overall defence spending next year will amount to 2.5 billion dollars, or 2.5 percent of the gross domestic product.
Kiev launched a major modernization of the army in 2014, when the conflict between government troops and pro-independence insurgents began in eastern Ukraine.