Ukraine to open 10 weapons export centers in Europe in 2026 in major wartime policy shift
Ukraine will open 10 weapon export centers in Europe, including in Baltic and Northern European countries, in 2026, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Feb. 8.
Zelensky also announced the upcoming production of Ukrainian drones in Germany.
“In mid-February, we will see the production of our drones in Germany. I will receive the first drone. This is a fully operational production line. In the U.K., similar production lines are already running. These are all Ukrainian technologies,” he wrote on Telegram.
"Today, Europe’s security is built on technology and drones. There are several different projects. All of this will be based largely on Ukrainian technologies and Ukrainian specialists," Zelensky wrote in his announcement on Telegram.
Exporting defense technologies and opening weapons production lines in partner countries are part of a broader effort to internationalize Ukraine's arms production, as its drone production capacity outpaces its financing.
The news follows Zelensky's instruction in October for the Defense Ministry to launch the "controlled export" of Ukrainian weapons abroad beginning in November 2025.
Under the proposed system, Ukraine will export military equipment it holds in surplus and spend the profits on urgently needed weapons.
Ukraine's defense sector — and its drone industry in particular — has exploded since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022. More than 200 drone companies have emerged, many producing cheap, adaptable systems that have reshaped modern warfare.
