The new tranche brings total recent EU defense support for Ukraine to 3.3 billion euros ($3.6 billion), marking a significant expansion of European efforts to boost Kyiv's defense industry.
Under a “1+1” model, Lithuania would fund the production of two drones, keeping one for its own defense and sending the other to Ukraine.
Ukraine's largest state-owned defense company Ukroboronprom reported a consolidated net profit of Hr 1.31 billion ($31.5 million) for the previous year, according to a press release at the company's website.
"We have made a breakthrough in the unmanned systems sector," Deputy Defense Minister Valerii Churkin said.
Ukraine’s military spending grew by 2.9% in 2024 to reach $64.7 billion, roughly 43% of Russia’s total expenditure, according to a report released on April 28 by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
The unification of technical standards for drones is among the key objectives for 2025, Hlib Kanievskyi, a procurement chief at the Defense Ministry, said.
"Now, one manufacturer can produce 4,000 such FPV drones per day," said Alexander Kamyshin, who previously served as the strategic industries minister.
Under the new initiative, the Danish government will introduce a state-backed guarantee through the Export and Investment Fund of Denmark (EIFO).
The Russian-made Kalashnikov still prevails as the main small arm in Ukraine’s military. A Czech weapons giant is setting up shop in Ukraine’s factories to change that. The Prague-domiciled conglomerate, Colt CZ, has set up assembly of its Bren 2 assault rifles inside Ukraine under the name “Sich”
The Baton drones are designed to meet military requirements for simplicity and reliability in difficult battlefield conditions.
"This does not bring tranquility but rather a moral belief that we will not be left empty-handed, of course, without the support of the United States," President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
The Ukrainian government in recent months has been aggressively touting fresh developments in its missile-making. President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that the country had built 100 of its own missiles in 2024 as of November. He called for 3,000 “cruise missiles or missile-drones” to be manufactured in 2025. Traditional missiles
Almost 100 of Ukraine's new Peklo missile-drone hybrids have been produced as the weapon entered serial production, Ukrainska Pravda reported on Dec. 16.
Denmark will allocate 130 million euros ($137.5 million) for the development of the Ukrainian defense industry, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen announced on Nov. 19 during a joint press briefing with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky
Editor’s Note: This is issue 152 of Ukrainian State-Owned Enterprises Weekly, covering events from Oct. 13-24, 2024. The Kyiv Independent is reposting it with permission. Corporate governance of SOEs Updated IMF Memorandum. On Oct. 18, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) published an updated Memorandum of Economic and Financial Policies
Editor’s Note: This is issue 148 of Ukrainian State-Owned Enterprises Weekly, covering events from September 15-21, 2024. The Kyiv Independent is reposting it with permission. Corporate governance of SOEs UDI looking for a new CEO. On Sept. 19, Ukrainian Defense Industry (UDI) said that its supervisory board had launched
The law aims to finance "urgent measures in the field of security and defense to counter the large-scale armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine," according to an explanatory note on the Ukrainian parliament's website.
A day earlier, Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said that Ukraine is preparing a response to Russian aerial strikes with weapons of its own production.
Editor’s Note: This is issue 142 of Ukrainian State-Owned Enterprises Weekly, covering events from July 21-27, 2024. The Kyiv Independent is reposting it with permission. Energy sector Ukraine increases natural gas reserves in underground storage to 10 billion cubic meters, Naftogaz Group reported on July 22. Over 2.5
Foreign funding in Ukraine's defense industry is showing a noticeable impact on the domestic production of weaponry and equipment, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his evening address on July 25.
The parties may cooperate in training, logistics, and overhaul of tactical unmanned aircraft systems used by the Ukrainian Armed Forces, including the long-range drone ScanEagle by Insitu, a subsidiary of Boeing, according to the memorandum.
The U.K. and Ukraine signed an agreement that provides credit support for the development of Ukraine's defense industry, Ukraine's Presidential Office announced on July 19.
The governments of Ukraine and Czechia signed two agreements on joint arms production on July 16, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal announced after the meeting with Czech counterpart Petr Fiala.
Ukraine employs long-range drones to strike deep into Russian territory, targeting military infrastructure such as airfields and logistics, as well as oil refineries and depots.
The High Anti-Corruption Court arrested Oleh Hladkovsky in absentia on May 13, Ukraine's Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) reported. Hladkovsky was the first deputy secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council during Petro Poroshenko's presidency.
"We have additional non-contracted capacities, and we want them to be financed at the expense of European funds," Strategic Industries Minister Oleksandr Kamyshin said on May 6.
The European Union has started work on establishing the new Defense Innovation office in Kyiv, EU Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton said on May 6 at the EU-Ukraine Defense Industries Forum.
The European Union will host an EU-Ukraine Defense Industries Forum on May 6 to boost cooperation with Ukraine's defense industry, the EU announced on May 2.
Oleh Hladkovsky, a former first deputy secretary of the National Security and Defense Council and a suspect in a years-old defense procurement criminal case, has been declared wanted, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) said on April 16.
BAE Systems has signed a contract with the U.K. government for the maintenance, repair, and overhaul services in Ukraine of the L119 light gun.
German arms manufacturer plans to open at least four plans in Ukraine to produce artillery shells, military vehicles, gunpowder, and anti-aircraft weapons, the AFP reported on March 14.
Editor’s Note: This is issue 121 of Ukrainian State-Owned Enterprises Weekly, covering events from Feb. 24 – March 1, 2024. The Kyiv Independent is reposting it with permission. Corporate governance of SOEs Former Ukrzaliznytsia CEO charged with embezzling Hr 11 million. On Feb. 26, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine
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