Exclusive: Ukraine wants to rearm itself in order to take the fight to Russian invaders
Ukraine has been given billions of pounds' worth of weapons and ammunition since the Russian invasion, but now wants to kickstart its own defence industry.
For decades, Ukraine was a major arms manufacturer, but the fall of the Soviet Union sent the sector into decline.
The West has been filling the gap since the 2022 invasion, but there is now push to revive the defence manufacturing industry to ensure Ukraine can make more of its own weaponry for the fight against Russia.
During a visit to Kyiv, Forces News spoke to Oleksandr Kamyshin, the Minister of Strategic Industries who is trying to re-arm Ukraine.
The 39-year-old used to run Ukraine's railway system, but is now in President Zelensky's cabinet and is tasked with rapidly expanding his country's defence sector.
Mr Kamyshin told Forces News the priorities were air defence, ammunition, drones and armoured vehicles.
But he said Ukraine also needs breaching equipment, missiles and "all the rest of the long list of weapon and ammunition".
"Definitely we are in the greatest war of generations," he said.
Ukraine's defence sector employs 300,000 people, but Mr Kamyshin wants to transform it and make defence Ukraine's primary industry, starting joint ventures with Western firms.
Mr Kamyshin said Ukraine would be happy to share the lessons learned with other countries, including the UK.
"Trust me, things produced in Ukraine are working well, are cheap enough and are developing really fast," he said.
"The innovation cycle sometimes is as short as a few weeks from the new idea to the feedback from the battlefield.
"We grow our capabilities faster, then our budget finance follows."
He explained that Ukraine can produce locally more than it can budget for in the next year.
"That's why we are trying to find other sources of funding," he said.
The legacy of Ukraine's past has been a barrier to foreign investment - namely Soviet-era business structures, corruption and a scarcity of skilled labour.
But that is starting to change, with British Aerospace and Babcock opening offices in Ukraine.
Rheinmetall will start to build its Fuchs armoured vehicle in Ukraine next year, while the Turkish firm that makes the Bayraktar drone will be opening a production plant in Ukraine in 2025.
Mr Kamyshin pointed out how Ukraine had managed to switch from Soviet-era Warsaw Pact weapons to Nato-standard weapons and ammunition.
"I'm sure that this kind of experience is unique," he said.
Join Our Newsletter
