The Ukrainian government on Friday presented to parliament the draft budget for the next year, which defined military expenditures as one of the top priorities, the cabinet's press service said in a statement.

"The question of financing the army, military, armament is an overriding priority," Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman said while commenting on the budget plan.

According to the draft budget, in 2019, Ukraine's defense spendings are expected to reach some 209.5 billion hryvnias (about 7.45 billion U.S. dollars), or about 5 percent of the country's projected gross domestic product (GDP).

The development of the economy, the growth of social standards and the repayment of debts are other priorities in Ukraine's 2019 draft budget.

The Ukrainian parliament is set to vote on the budget proposal in the first reading by Oct. 20.

After two decades of keeping its defense expenditures at below 1.5 percent of the GDP, Ukraine began to gradually boost its defense budget in 2014, when the conflict between government troops and pro-independence armed groups started in the country's eastern regions.