As the war with Russia overtakes it in terms of both men and material, Ukraine is considering the task of exporting weapons produced by the country’s limited munitions manufacturers.
The National Association of Defense Industry Enterprises of Ukraine (NAUDI) stated that it believes selling military arms to other countries could be crucial to building Ukraine’s staggering economy, Militarnyi reported.
“At present, the issue of scaling up production can only compete with the issue of financing it,” said Dmytro Natalukha, Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Economic Development, as participants discussed just how a country that is in dire need of all military supplies can consider selling them.
NAUDI predicted that defense product sales could bring in another $2 billion in tax revenue over the next one-and-a-half years – provided Ukraine remains undefeated in the war with Russia. While the Ukrainian defense industry can produce up to $20 billion in armaments a year, the government has only budgeted $6 billion per annum for the purchase of weapons.
“Currently, due to the lack of funding, defense companies may go bankrupt, as all working capital is invested in the development of new technologies and expansion of production,” the meeting minutes noted.
NAUDI maintains that the foreign sales will not only boost production and wealth for the defense industry but create the new taxes necessary for the government to continue to fund the war with Russia.
“Today, Ukrainian manufacturers have no direct legal ban on exporting their products and goods, but in the context of the active war, the issue of allowing arms exports becomes particularly complicated and important,” said Oleksandr Marikovskyi, chairman of the subcommittee on regional cooperation and trade, according to Militarnyi.
Ukraine is investigating how a US-supplied F-16 fighter jet was destroyed and the pilot killed. It was on the brink of ceasefire talks with Russia before Ukrainian forces invaded the Kursk region of Russia, scuttling talks.
