The Ukrainian Armed Forces need funding at the level of at least UAH 112 billion in 2019, Chief of the General Staff and Commander-In-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Viktor Muzhenko has said.

"We calculated that this should be the amount of about UAH 112 billion. This is the minimum need for the army. Now we are given just UAH 82 billion, which is clearly not enough to keep the Ukrainian Armed Forces in a combat-ready state. I'm not talking about capacity building," he said in an interview with BBC Ukrainian.

According to him, there is currently an outflow of military personnel, including due to problems with finances, which can have serious consequences for the combat readiness of the Ukrainian army.

Muzhenko said that because of dismissals, the army recruits new contract soldiers who need to be trained, but they also leave after a certain period.

"Our research shows that the basic salary for a serviceman should be 15,000 (hryvnias). We now have 7,000. This figure should at least double. Then it will be a decent level of financial compensation for all those inconveniences and the tension they experience," he said.

Muzhenko also said that this situation does not influence the front line, since cash payments there are much higher.