Ukraine, France working to establish joint defense production, Zelensky says
Ukraine is working with France to establish new joint defense production facilities, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his evening address on Oct. 12.
The developing production agreement comes following Zelensky's visit to Paris on Oct. 10 where he met with French President Emmanuel Macron. Earlier this week, Zelensky embarked on a multi-country tour of various European allies aiming to present his "victory plan" as well as discuss further military support.
"Every foreign visit is always a conversation about investment in Ukraine's industrial sector," Zelensky said in his evening address.
Although Zelensky did not provide specifics on the development of the production partnership, he pointed to the success of the Danish model in attracting investments in defense production.
In June, Denmark became the first country to offer to donate arms to Ukraine via direct purchases from the Ukrainian defense industry, as Kyiv's defense budget does not match the capacities of domestic weapons production.
"The Danish model already works... and we consider the new French model as an opportunity to attract investments specifically to establish new production facilities," Zelensky said.
Zelensky added that the countries' respective defense ministries are working on establishing an agreement.
“This is a personal task for the Minister of Defense, for the Ministry of Strategic Industries to ensure that all our agreements are fulfilled."
Earlier this week, French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu said that he expects Ukraine to receive the first Mirage 2000 fighter jets from France in the first quarter of 2025.
Ukraine continues to ramp up domestic ammunition and drone production as it attempts to become more independent from its Western partners. Despite the country's best efforts, Ukraine continues to rely on foreign financing as the state can only cover part of the budget.
Martin Fornusek
