KIEV, Feb. 28 – The final switch of the Ukrainian Armed Forces to a contractual or volunteer basis, increasing the army's military efficiency, and the resolution of the acute social problems of soldiers, could remain an unachievable task, Presidential Secretariat head Viktor Baloha said.

"Military reform plans are running up against the barrier of insufficient budget spending. As soon as the question of the acute need for additional assignations for the Ukrainian Armed Forces comes up, the cabinet demonstrates astonishing thrift. The reasons for such a position are political, rather than economic," he said, commenting on the possible consequences of the Cabinet of Ministers refusing to foresee an increase in the spending for the army's needs in amendments to the national budget for 2008.