The Ukrainian Defense Ministry intends to increase the strength of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and has prepared a state defense order not only for 2015, but also for the next two years, Defense Minister Stepan Poltorak has said.

"This year the work on the state defense order has actually been completed. In addition, we have planned the state defense order for the next two years so that that our businesses could see what we need and so that they could be able to assess their potential," he said at a press conference in Kyiv on Thursday.

Poltorak noted that Ukraine had drawn up a state program for the development of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and had prepared a modern army provision strategy.

He said that it was planned to increase the strength of army personnel from 232,000 to 250,000 people, as well as to create six mechanized brigades, a mountain infantry regiment, three artillery brigades and two army aviation brigades.

In addition, Poltorak said that the Defense Ministry was drafting Ukraine's new military doctrine, taking into account the rejection of the country's non-bloc status and existing threats that "have changed dramatically."