Ukraine defence chief wants budget doubled to fight separatists

Ukraine's Defence Minister Stepan Poltorak speaks during a news conference after a meeting with Canada's Defence Minister Rob Nicholson in Kiev, December 8, 2014. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko

KIEV (Reuters) - Ukraine's defence minister called on Friday for a doubling of the military budget next year to allow the army to buy weapons abroad and better equip itself to fight Russian-backed separatists in the east.

Numbers of soldiers serving in the east, where government forces have been battling separatists since April, would also be increased to a quarter of a million next year from 232,000 currently, the minister, Stepan Poltorak, told parliament.