KIEV, Nov. 4 – President Viktor Yushchenko has signed a decree decreasing by a quarter the staff of the offices of the head of state.

The decree was issued ten days after a decision taken by the National Security and Defense Council on tackling the financial crisis, the presidential press service quoted Presidential Secretariat Head Viktor Baloha as saying.

Baloha said that the document applies to every fourth employee. He said that the greatest number of state employees had been decreased at the National Institute for Strategic Studies – from 317 to 217 people.