Moscow: Ukraine plans to cut the size of the standing Army by 15-20 percent by 2015, Defence Minister Mikhail Ezhel said.
The program for the development of the country`s armed forces for 2011-2015 sets reform priorities.
"The adoption and implementation of the document`s provisions will allow to guarantee the Ukrainian Army`s capability to promptly react to real and potential threats," he said, in an interview with Russia`s Krasnaya Zvezda newspaper published yesterday.
"Moreover, they will allow to adjust the Army`s combat strength with Ukraine`s declared non-aligned status," he said.
"In the medium term we plan to resolve main problems that today reduce the armed forces` combat capacity. In particular, we plan to boost field, seaborne and airborne training of personnel, to improve mobilization capacities, increase the level of serviceability and maintenance of arms and military hardware and restore emergency supplies ," Ezhel said.
He noted that under the program the armed forces will be equipped with state-of-the-art arms and military hardware.
PTI
