Ukrainian Defense Minister Stepan Poltorak stirred skepticism in Ukraine when he told U.S. international broadcaster Voice of America in an interview on Feb. 3 that Ukraine was already 90 percent of the way to adopting NATO standards.

Ukraine’s ambitious plan to reform its military, bringing it into line with the alliance by 2020, was only started in 2016. But while defense spending has skyrocketed in recent years, reaching $6 billion or nearly 6 percent of the gross domestic product, the defense sector remains inefficient and corrupt.