Day: December 31, 2024

Ukraine’s defense-industrial complex has increased sixfold in capabilities, and nearly all drones for the frontlines are produced domestically, RBC-Ukraine reports, citing Ukraine’s Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal.

“In the drone segment, domestic production accounts for over 96%. Through the ‘Army of Drones’ project, more than 1.2 million UAVs have been purchased,” Shmyhal said.

Ukraine’s Prime Minister noted that this year, more than half of the state budget expenditures were allocated for defense: “literally every hryvnia collected within the country.”

Thanks to investments from both the state and the private sector, the capabilities of Ukraine’s defense-industrial complex have increased sixfold. Over 800 state and private companies are operating in the defense sector. More than 1,000 types of weapons and equipment have been approved for use, with half of them produced in Ukraine.

“Ukraine now manufactures more self-propelled artillery systems than any other country in the free world. Significant progress has been made in the missile program, and long-range Ukrainian weapons have been developed,” Shmyhal stated.

Furthermore, Ukraine’s Prime Minister highlighted the launch of the so-called “Danish model” to utilize Ukraine’s defense-industrial capacity. “This means partners assist Ukraine by purchasing weapons for Ukraine from Ukrainian enterprises. Nearly $1 billion has been raised through this initiative,” Shmyhal added.

Weapons of Victory

Earlier, on December 20, the Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers approved a resolution titled “Certain Issues of Defense Procurement During Martial Law.” This resolution effectively introduced a new term, “Weapons of Victory.”

According to the Ministry of Finance, over 2.2 trillion hryvnias are earmarked for the defense forces in 2025. Out of this amount, 740 billion hryvnias will be allocated for weapons procurement, fully covering the annual requirement, and nearly 50 billion hryvnias will go towards the production and acquisition of UAVs.