The gap between Ukrainian companies' production capacities and their funding is $10 billion for 2024, Strategic Industries Minister Oleksandr Kamyshin said on May 6 at the EU-Ukraine Defense Industries Forum.
Kamyshin's statement came during the forum in Brussels, which gathered over 350 representatives from EU institutions, governments, European and Ukrainian defense industries, industry associations, and key partner states to boost cooperation with Ukraine in the defense sector.
The Ukrainian defense-industrial complex can launch production worth $20 billion per year, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) reported, referring to the Strategic Industries Ministry's calculations.
The ministry plans to pass contracts worth $6 billion and to collect the other $4 billion via local funding in Ukraine. The partners could cover the rest of the $10 billion.
"Our main task is to find additional funding for the defense forces in Ukraine. My task is to get this financing for production in Ukraine since we are already capable (of it)," Kamyshin said.
"We have additional non-contracted capacities, and we want them to be financed at the expense of European funds."
Kamyshin said that Denmark and Canada have already invested in Ukrainian arms production, but the Ukrainian government is still looking for additional funds to produce different weapons.
The minister said Ukraine can produce military equipment "from armored vehicles to unmanned aerial and ground vehicles."
"And this is the fastest and most correct way to help our Armed Forces... Part of the items can be produced very quickly," Kamyshin said.
EU Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton announced earlier at the forum that the EU has started work on establishing the new Defense Innovation office in Kyiv.
The office will support the further integration of Ukraine into European defense programs, while at the same time allowing European countries to learn from the experiences of the Ukrainian military on the battlefield.
Kateryna Denisova
