Ukrainian arms manufacturers have been granted licenses to export abroad

Ukrainian arms manufacturers have received their first licenses to export their products abroad during the war with Russia. This was announced on Thursday by Rustem Umerov, secretary of the Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council.

Kyiv made the politically sensitive decision to allow arms exports despite the current conflict. The aim is to raise funds to expand the domestic defense industry and at the same time use Ukrainian weapons innovations as a diplomatic tool to strengthen alliances.

Umerov did not specify how many companies had obtained licenses, but he said that the annual production capacity of the Ukrainian arms sector exceeds $55 billion. He added that the interdepartmental government commission that approves arms exports had met for the first time in eight months.

Since Russia's invasion in February 2022, Ukraine's defense industry has grown significantly and now includes more than 100 companies, mostly new private enterprises. President Volodymyr Zelensky recently said that Ukraine has about 450 drone manufacturers, which now account for most of the attacks on the battlefield.

(reuters, lud)