REUTERS
Chairman of Ukraine's SBU Security Service Vasyl Hrytsak has said that the next year's budget allocated less funds for the SBU than the agency actually requires.
"Our budget is what we have been able to defend, which is UAH 6.260 billion. Although our minimum requirements, which we had announced, were at a little more than UAH 7 billion. In addition, over 80% of our budget are salaries and accruals," Hrytsak told 112 Ukraine TV channel.
"Now I may be revealing a real military secret, but I have to say that, unfortunately, at the end of this year, salaries of employees of the Security Service were the lowest among the law enforcement and military agencies," he said.
Read alsoInterior minister says satisfied with ministry's budget for 2017According to Hrytsak, the staff of the Security Service received lower wages than the officers at similar positions at the State Border Guard Service, the Interior Ministry, and the National Police.
"So, we are really in the lack of funds," he said.
Regarding the problem of cyber attacks, Hrytsak said that the investigators were working "out of merely patriotic considerations" against the IT people who get "more money and set up hacker attacks."
Hrytsak said that commercial organizations are "enticing" younger SBU operatives with higher salaries.