Minister: Ukraine wants to build 500,000-strong military

Ukraine aims to increase its gross domestic product (GDP) from £161 billion to £1 trillion in ten years, among other reasons to maintain a 500,000-strong military, European Pravda cited[1] Economy Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko on June 22. The higher budget will also be used to develop the social sphere, education, and healthcare, Svyrydenko said at the Ukraine Recovery Conference (UCR) 2023 in London. "Economic rules allow financing these activities without critically burdening the budget," commented Svyrydenko, who also serves as a deputy prime minister.

She noted that NATO and the EU should play an important role in this plan as they can help Ukraine with security and institutional reforms. The State Statistics Service reported[2] a GDP drop of 31.4% in the fourth quarter of last year. According to the Economy Ministry, however, the economy began recovering[3] faster than expected in the first quarter of 2023.

Ukraine's partners have pledged[4] billions in financial aid to Ukraine at the UCR 2023, hoping to aid the country in its reconstruction and revitalize its economy.

Browder: 'West must hand Russian Central Bank's £350 billion to Ukraine for reconstruction' London-based American investor Bill Browder says people call him the "number one enemy" of Russian President Vladimir Putin and, more recently, an official "Friend of Ukraine." Browder has spent the last 13 years campaigning to freeze Putin's assets hidden in the West. Now, he's fighting for them t...

News Editor

Martin Fornusek is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent.

He has previously worked as a news content editor at the media company Newsmatics and is a contributor to Euromaidan Press. He also volunteers as an editor and translator at the Czech-language version of Ukrainer. Martin studied at Masaryk University in Brno, Czechia, holding a bachelor's degree in security studies and history and a master's degree in conflict and democracy studies.

References

1. ^ cited (www.epravda.com.ua)
2. ^ reported (kyivindependent.com)
3. ^ recovering (kyivindependent.com)
4. ^ pledged (kyivindependent.com)
5. ^ Browder: 'West must hand Russian Central Bank's £350 billion to Ukraine for reconstruction'London-based American investor Bill Browder says people call him the "number one enemy" of Russian President Vladimir Putin and, more recently, an official "Friend of Ukraine." Browder has spent the last 13 years campaigning to freeze Putin's assets hidden in the West.

   Now, he's fighting for them t... (kyivindependent.com)