Ukraine lures Western weapons makers to transform defence industry

30 September 2023 - 16:00
By Reuters
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky says air defence and de-mining are his immediate concerns. File photo.
Image: Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Reuters Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky says air defence and de-mining are his immediate concerns. File photo.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday he wants to turn Ukraine's defence industry into a “large military hub” by partnering with Western weapons manufacturers to increase arms supplies for Kyiv's counteroffensive against Russia.

He was speaking at a forum his government convened with international producers to discuss how to jointly develop industrial capacity to build and repair weapons in Ukraine despite constant Russian bombardment.

“Ukraine is in such a phase of the defence marathon when it is very important, critical, to go forward without retreating. Results from the front line are needed daily,” Zelensky told executives representing more than 250 Western weapons producers.

“We are interested in localising production of equipment needed for our defence and each of those advanced defence systems which are used by our soldiers, giving Ukraine the best results at the front today,” he told the forum in Kyiv.

Zelensky said air defence and demining were his immediate concerns. Ukraine also aims to boost domestic production of missiles, drones and artillery ammunition.

Kyiv began its counteroffensive in early June to try to recapture territories seized by Russia, which still controls about 18% of the Ukrainian territory. Kyiv reported advances in several directions and liberated more than a dozen villages, but so far has not managed to retake any major cities.

Ukraine critically depends on Western financial and military support and has had tens of billions of dollars of such help since the start of Russia's invasion in February 2022. But the war created a constantly growing demand for arms and ammunition.

Executives from weapons producers from more than 30 countries attended the forum. Some said they were depleting their stocks quickly and had struggled to find supplies to be able to ramp up production to meet Ukrainian demand.

Ukrainian officials see the development of domestic defence production as a boost to the economy, which shrank by about a third last year due to the war.

Several leading Western producers, such as Germany's weapon production giant Rheinmetall and Britain-based BAE Systems, have already announced plans to team up with Ukrainian producers.

The foreign ministry said Ukrainian producers signed about 20 agreements with foreign partners for joint production, exchange of technology or supply of components to make drones, armoured vehicles and ammunition. It did not identify the companies.

The Ukrainian government plans to create special economic conditions to draw Western investment into the domestic defence sector, including a fund to support new technology development.

“It will be a mutually beneficial partnership. I think it is a good time and place to create a large military hub,” Zelensky said during a separate meeting with US, British, Czech, German, French, Swedish and Turkish weapons producers.