DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Research and Markets(http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/1da0e1/ukraine_defence_an) has announced the addition of the "Ukraine Defence and Security Report 2012" report to their offering.
In 2012 BMI expects a significant rise in dollar spending on the Ukrainian defence forces - up to US$4.65bn from 2011's figure of US$4.06bn, representing a growth of around 14%. This is on the back of the growth of the Ukrainian economy, in part fuelled by the new found stability of the value of the hryvnia, and the associated competitive advantages this has brought. This figure is roughly in line with economic growth in other sectors of the economy - and leaves military spending at 2.7% of GDP. This is significantly higher than the majority of other developed economies, and in particular most NATO countries. This figure is 8.4% of government spending, a figure we see rising to around 12% at the end of the forecast period.
However, defence equipment appears low on the government's list of spending priorities. In 2010, only 7% of the MoD budget was spent on new arms and equipment, whereas close to 88% was set aside for maintenance - signalling a clear over-reliance on vintage equipment. While Yushchenko wants to devote more spending for the armed forces, the global recession and problems with Russian gas supplies has limited government expenditure and the defence budget has suffered. An increase in spending is unlikely in the near future.
The reputation of Ukraine as being one of the former Soviet countries most able to assist in the upgrade of arms produced in the former USSR was confirmed in February 2011 by the imprisonment of two men of stealing information from the NITKA naval training facility in order to assist the Chinese government in re-fitting the former Ukrainian ship, the Varyag, reported Sebodnya, a Ukrainian paper.
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