Kyiv will receive defensive lethal weapons from the United States in 2018, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said.
“Our country’s military budget will amount to record Hr 86 billion next year. We will receive defensive lethal weapons from our partners in the U.S. And will continue to reinforce the Ukrainian army with latest domestically-manufactured hardware,” Poroshenko said on Facebook.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces are now among the most efficient ones in Europe, he said.
Welcoming the adoption of the 2018 national budget by the Verkhovna Rada on Dec. 8, 2017, Poroshenko said, “The budget allocates Hr 86 billion for the army, which is nearly 25 percent more than this year. One fifth of the budget will be used on weapons and military hardware, which is 34 percent more than this year.”
Poroshenko said U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson had reaffirmed in a telephone conversation with him that the U.S. would provide defensive lethal weapons to Ukraine on Dec. 23.
“Just as we agreed with President Donald Trump calmly and without much noise, Ukraine will receive lethal defensive weapons from the U.S. This principled and long-awaited decision by the American administration was confirmed during my conversation with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson yesterday,” Poroshenko said on Facebook.
