KIEV, July 21. /ITAR-TASS/. Ukraine needs 9.1 billion hryvnias (about $800 million) in defense spending until the end of this year, Finance Minister Oleksandr Shlapak said on Monday.

“About 520 million hryvnias (about $42 million) have been left in the reserve fund, but much more funds are needed for the country’s defense capability. We have calculated that 9.1 billion hryvnias are required until the end of this year,” Shlapak told a meeting of the conciliatory council of the Ukrainian parliament’s deputy group and faction leaders.

The statement comes as pro-Kiev troops continue a military operation in the south-eastern Ukrainian Donetsk and Luhansk regions to regain control over the breakaway regions, which on May 11 proclaimed their independence at local referendums.