Ukrainian arms manufacturers have received their first wartime permits to export their products abroad, the Secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, Rustem Umerov, said today, quoted by Reuters, BTA reported.
Kiev recently made the politically sensitive decision to export its weapons while waging war with Russia, as it seeks to finance the expansion of its defense industry and tries to use its innovative weapons as diplomatic leverage to strengthen partnerships, the agency said.
Umerov did not specify in his post on social networks how many companies had received permits, but said that Ukraine's annual production capacity in this sector exceeds $55 billion. He noted that the inter-governmental commission that issues permits for arms exports has met for the first time in eight months.
Since Ukraine was attacked by Russia in February 2022, its defense sector has grown and now includes more than 100 companies, most of them private.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky recently said that there are 450 drone manufacturing companies in the country. According to him, small and inexpensive unmanned aerial vehicles today carry out the majority of strikes on battlefield targets.
"In the sector of unmanned aerial vehicles, as well as electronic warfare and reconnaissance equipment, our capabilities already exceed the volume of domestic orders," Umerov wrote. "Coordinated exports allow us to attract investors, increase production and introduce new technologies for the Ukrainian army," he added.