#17
Ukraine sees army reform vital for NATO entry
KIEV, June 26 (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma called for reform of the ex-Soviet state's crumbling armed forces on Wednesday, saying that without the army's modernisation Ukraine would fail to get into NATO.
Kuchma, Ukraine's longest serving post-independence leader, signalled a policy change earlier this month when he said his long-term goal was to integrate Ukraine into European institutions and gain NATO membership.
But the veteran leader, who was first elected in 1994, admits much has to be done in the country of 49 million people, sandwiched between an expanding European Union and its former imperial master, Russia.
"One of the major steps to fulfilling these policies will be to improve the structures and the functions of the armed forces. They should be mobile, efficient and well-equipped," Kuchma told graduates from military academies.
About 400,000 Ukrainians are employed by the country's army, forced to live on a shoestring since the end of the Cold War cut lavish financing.
Officials have said the army should become a professional force of about 300,000 and conscription should be dropped, but they have yet to make any headway on implementing the reforms.
The army's reputation was seriously tarnished last year after the military forces lost control of a live missile and shot down a Russian passenger plane, killing all 78 people on board. It took Ukraine's military several weeks to admit it.
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