Maintaining the Ukrainian army over the next 10 years will require aid worth several hundred billion dollars, the Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister and the Ukrainian Minister of Economy said today, quoted by DPA, BTA reported.
If Russia's aggressive behavior towards Europe and the world does not change, the costs could reach $700 billion, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Taras Kachka, responsible for EU and NATO integration, said today. He said this at a panel discussion at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
According to Economy Minister Oleksiy Sobolev, the amount refers to defense spending that is not provided for in the Ukrainian state budget and will therefore have to be provided from other sources. He specified that Ukraine's planned defense spending in the budget for the next 10 years amounts to nearly $500 billion.
Ukraine has been defending itself against Russian invasion with international aid for almost four years.
According to calculations by the Kiel Institute for World Economy, the country has so far been provided with military aid in the amount of over $234 billion.