Ukraine tripled production of weapons, equipment this year - president

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said this at a meeting with executives and employees of state-owned and private defense enterprises, Ukrinform reports, citing the website of the head of state.

"Ukraine's task is absolutely clear: we must strengthen our state to the point where Russia feels that every one of their strikes will face our retaliation. This task can only be accomplished through sufficient domestic arms manufacturing. [...] This year alone, thanks to everyone who works in the defense sector, it was possible to produce three times more weapons and equipment than last year," Zelensky said.

According to him, there is also an extremely significant increase in the production of ammunition, particularly for artillery. Systematic deployment of ammunition manufacturing for domestic drones is underway, and the quantitative and qualitative indicators of missile production have increased, he said.

"I thank you for every such initiative in the Ukrainian defense sector. Anyone who provides Ukraine with equipment, shells, and all the necessary weapons also provides our state with political independence," Zelensky said.

He noted that the share of private companies in Ukraine's defense sector was continuously increasing, with already four out of five companies in the defense industry being non-state enterprises.

"We have to step up the use of this power, one of the main powers of human nature – the power of entrepreneurship. Swift development is simply impossible without it. It is only right that state-owned enterprises compete with private companies on an equal footing to ensure the quality and speed of our Ukrainian production. We are all on the same team. We all need the same thing – victory," Zelensky said.

At the same time, according to him, the state will continue to simplify bureaucratic procedures – from importing components to the commissioning process, and the government is working to secure financing for long-term contracts.

In addition, Zelensky said Ukraine's defense industry would become part of the international defense system, and there are already agreements with a number of leading countries and world companies on co-production.

"There will be more such agreements, more integration of our capabilities and those of the world, our production and production of major states," Zelensky said.

In late August, Ukraine successfully used its own long-range weapon, hitting a target at a distance of 700 kilometers.

Zelensky said in September that the decision had been made on the joint production of weapons by Ukraine and the United States, including air defense systems.

In late September, representatives of 252 defense companies from over 30 countries joined the first international industry forum in Kyiv.

Photo: Office of the President of Ukraine