“We have unmet needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine”: the head of the Ministry of Defense explained why Ukraine does not export weapons

Minister of Defense Denys Shmyhal stated that there is no legislative ban on the export of Ukrainian weapons, but Ukraine does not export them because the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine are not met. Shmyhal said this during the presentation of the government’s action program, as reported by UNN.

Details

First, there is no legislative ban; export is possible for us. Second, export is not happening because we have unmet needs of our Armed Forces. These need to be 100% satisfied by our own producers, and after that, we can exchange the surplus for the weapons we need. Or work with partners, and here, in Defence City and in the President’s proposal and initiative, there is an element of quasi-export, where we build production jointly with partners in a safe territory, which starts working now and supplies the bulk of its products to Ukraine.

He gave an example that 70-80% of what is produced is supplied to Ukraine, and the rest remains in partners’ warehouses because they also need to accumulate weapons.

This option has been practically worked out today, and we are preparing for its implementation. We already have the first steps in this direction. Simply opening the export of our products would be wrong from all points of view.

RecallIn Ukraine, there is a request from the defense industry to allow weapon exports, but making such a decision requires comprehensive consideration at the highest state level.