The Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers supported the increase in the defense budget in 2016 to 5% of the country's GDP, said the Director of the Department of social and humanitarian policy of the Ministry of defense of Ukraine Valentyn Fedichev.

first it was claimed that the defense Ministry of Ukraine hopes for the allocation of approximately 87 billion hryvnia (about 4, 1 billion dollars) for their needs in 2016, which is two times more than was allocated for defense in 2015.

"The Cabinet endorsed the increase in the defence budget in 2016 at 5% of gross domestic product. This civil feat of the Ukrainian people, " said Fedichev in the air.

according to him, in 2015 was allocated 45 billion UAH for the financing of the armed forces. Fedichev also clarified that if in September 2014, the Ukrainian military had to own up to 50 combat-ready battalions, in September 2015, this figure had reached 150.

The Ukrainian authorities began in April last year in the Donbass military operation against dissatisfied with the coup d'etat of residents of the region. According to the summary data of the UN, the victims of the conflict were about 6, 8 thousand people. The settlement of the situation in the Donbass discussed during the meeting in Minsk of the contact group, which since September of last year already took 3 of the document governing the steps to de-escalate the conflict.

sections: Politics