Kyiv, Sep 19 (IANS) The Ukrainian parliament has voted to allocate an additional 495.3 billion hryvnias (about $11.96 billion) for defence, the country’s Finance Ministry has said.
The voting on Wednesday was supported by 298 votes in favour, surpassing the required minimum of 226, lawmaker Yaroslav Zheleznyak was quoted by Xinhua news agency as saying.
With the sum, Ukraine’s expenditures for defence will reach 3.73 trillion hryvnias (about $90 billion) in 2024, Zheleznyak wrote on Telegram.
Ukraine will source additional funds for military needs from hiked taxes and additional placement of domestic government debt bonds, among other sources, according to lawmaker Rolsolana Pidlasa.
Last year, Ukraine spent about $64 billion, or about 40.5 per cent of its gross domestic product on defence.
–IANS
int/sha