Export of Ukrainian weapons to become reality – Zelenskyy
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, following an expanded meeting on key issues of Ukrainian weapons exports, has said that such exports will become a reality.
"We have agreed on all the details at the level of our state institutions. At present, our security expertise and weapons tested by modern warfare are of interest to all partners capable of ensuring a real level of protection for their national statehood and people’s lives," Zelenskyy said on Telegram.
He said the Ukrainian side had offered partners helping Ukraine a special format of cooperation called Drone Deals – special agreements on the production and supply of Ukrainian drones, missiles, shells and other in-demand types of weapons, military equipment, software, integration with partners’ defense systems, as well as the provision of expertise and the technological exchange needed by Ukraine.
"Today I approved the areas of such interstate work and the development of automatic permits for businesses to export weapons. The procedure is absolutely clear: at the interstate level, on the basis of the principle of reciprocity, the relevant agreement defines the framework for security work, after which the process begins at the level of state institutions and manufacturers. We are simplifying bureaucratic procedures, maintaining a sufficient level of export control and launching practical substance for companies’ work," the president said.
He said Ukrainian companies will receive a real opportunity to enter the markets of partner countries, provided that Ukrainian troops have the right to take the necessary amount of weapons first. The surplus production capacity in Ukraine for some types of weapons reaches 50%, and this is a direct result of state investment in Ukraine’s defense industry and cooperation with partners.
Zelenskyy also instructed the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, together with intelligence agencies and the SBU, to determine a list of countries to which exports of Ukrainian weapons are impossible due to their cooperation with the aggressor state.
"This is a serious challenge – to prevent our technologies and weapons samples from falling into Russian hands. Ukraine’s NSDC will coordinate export processes and will act as a guarantor that the needs of Ukraine’s Defense and Security Forces for weapons are met first, and that the surplus is sent for export – what manufacturers can produce beyond the state order in Ukraine. The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine and the General Staff will determine the volume of needs of our state’s Defense Forces," the president said.
