Companies@UA: База компаний Украины

Kyiv, July 30 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The Defense Ministry of Ukraine has said it hopes that its budget for 2009 will be increased.

Ukraine's Acting Defense Minister Valeriy Ivaschenko said this in Kyiv on Thursday.

"We are not satisfied with this year's budget at all, [and] we hope that the budget for 2009 will be amended," he said.

He said that special attention should be paid to the problem of fulfilling this year's revenues target for the ministry's special fund, which is UAH 3.6 billion. The Defense Ministry is supposed to earn these funds by selling its property, Ivaschenko said. However, the special fund has received no more than UAH 1 billion so far, he added.

Meanwhile, a realistic target of the special fund, according to expert estimates, should be UAH 1.2 billion.

"So UAH 3.6 billion is a theoretical indicator. I doubt its feasibility," Ivaschenko said.