Muzhenko’s appetites are growing: they already want 212 billion hryvnia from the budget for the Armed Forces of Ukraine
The Armed Forces of Ukraine in 2019 need funding of at least UAH 112 billion, reports a PolitNavigator correspondent.
This was stated by the Chief of the General Staff - Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Viktor Muzhenko.
“We calculated that this should be about UAH 112 billion. This is the minimum requirement for the army. And so far they give us figures for UAH 82 billion. This is clearly not enough to keep the Armed Forces of Ukraine in a combat-ready state, not to mention increasing capabilities,” the Chief of the General Staff said in an interview with BBC News Ukraine.
According to him, there is currently an outflow of military personnel, including due to material problems, which could have serious consequences for the combat readiness of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Muzhenko explained that due to dismissal, new contract soldiers are recruited into the army who need to be trained, but after a certain period they also leave.
“Our research shows that the basic monetary support for a military personnel should be 15 thousand (UAH). We now have 7 thousand, this figure should at least double. Then this will be a decent level of material compensation for all the inconvenience and stress that they experience,” he noted.
The Chief of the General Staff also indicated that this situation does not affect the front line, since cash payments there are much larger.