Kiev: Ukraine's president today vowed to boost military spending by USD 3 billion in the next three years as government forces seek to overpower pro-Russian separatists in the east.
President Petro Poroshenko made his pledge during a speech marking Ukraine's independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.
Speaking to a crowd of thousands in Kiev's Independence Square, Poroshenko says the country would increase military spending by USD 3 billion by 2017. The Ukrainian defence ministry says its existing 2014 budget is USD 1.5 billion.
Ukraine's military has pleaded for more resources to oust pro-Russian rebels, who still hold two major cities in the east, Donetsk and Luhansk.
The United Nations estimates that the eastern fighting has claimed 2,000 lives since April.
AFP
First Published: Sunday, August 24, 2014, 16:36
