Ukraine’s newly appointed head of defense industry says he is working tirelessly to ramp up local arms production and wants to turn the country into a weapons production hub for the West.
Oleksandr Kamysyhin, the minister for strategic industries of Ukraine, said that Russia’s invasion of his country and the Israel-Hamas war raging in the Middle East have highlighted the need for countries to spend on their defense systems.
“We’re really focusing on making Ukraine the arsenal of the free world,” Kamyshin told The Associated Press in an interview late Friday.
Kamyshyn said approximately 500 companies in Ukraine’s defense industry are contributing to the country’s efforts to increase weapons production in order to counter Russia’s attempts to seize more territory. Among those are 70 state-owned factories, over 200 primarily private factories producing unmanned systems, and more than 200 private sector companies involved in the production of various types of weaponry and ammunition.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Kamyshyn said approximately 500 companies in Ukraine’s defense industry are contributing to the country’s efforts to increase weapons production in order to counter Russia’s attempts to seize more territory.
He previously worked as the chief of the national railway Ukrzaliznytsia, which under his rule, became famous for keeping trains running on time despite the war, crucial to evacuating hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians to safety in the early days of Russia’s invasion.
He declined to disclose specific figures but said Ukraine is manufacturing mortar and artillery ammunition, drones, armored vehicles, missiles and various other items.
Most crucially, Kamyshin says that the increased local production of weapons has enhanced Ukraine’s capabilities to launch attacks on Russian territory.
As many allies have significantly depleted their stocks in order to support Ukraine, the country has recently hosted an international defense industry conference seeking other forms of cooperation, including the joint production of weapons.
“That’s something we can contribute to the free world because, as you see, the defense industry is becoming more and more important globally,” he said, adding that it could help to revitalize Ukraine’s economy, drained by war.
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