KIEV, Sept. 11 – Ukraine's petrochemical industry, at current prices for raw materials, needs comprehensive modernization to overcome its technological backwardness and ensure profitable operations, but the government can't do this due to a lack of budget funds, Prime Minister Mykola Azarov said.

"We need to focus on attracting strategic investors in the petrochemical industry," he said, while opening a Cabinet of Ministers meeting in Kiev on Wednesday.