The first meeting of the Industrial Defense Committee of Ukraine was held. A number of important decisions were made to synchronize activities and improve their effectiveness. This was announced by Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal during a government meeting, UNN reports.
Its first meeting has already taken place. No details here. We have made a number of important decisions to synchronize our activities and improve their effectiveness.
As the Prime Minister emphasized, modern weapons that strike the enemy are the key to future victory. First and foremost, we are talking about the development of the Defense Tech cluster, scaling up the production of drones of various categories, electronic warfare and other means necessary for the frontline.
"The state has made a real revolution in regulating the creation of drones. They adopted 20 laws and bylaws, and thanks to this, they scaled up production 100 times. The bureaucracy has been removed, and there is real competition among about two hundred private companies in the UAV industry.
The Prime Minister reminded that this year's state budget allocates UAH 40 billion for the purchase of drones.
Shmyhal also emphasized that the latest developments are already changing the course of the war.
Уряд провів засідання на Сході: Шмигаль назвав головні пріоритети на 2024 рік13.02.24, 17:21
Naval drones paralyzed the enemy fleet in the Black Sea and ensured the security of the water logistics corridor. In just six months, attack drones hit more than 14,000 targets: Russian equipment, air defense, electronic warfare, and fortifications.
He recalled that on February 6, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy issued a decree instructing the creation of the Unmanned Systems Forces as a separate branch of the military. Thus, the potential of drones in cooperation with other branches of the military, according to the Prime Minister, will be maximized.
In addition, Ukraine has made huge strides in the production of ammunition. For example, last year the production of mortar shells increased 42 times and artillery shells by 2.5 times.
We expect a new growth peak in 2024. This will be facilitated by deregulation, which has already been implemented. We have established clear algorithms for the development and commissioning of products. This will attract even more Ukrainian manufacturers to fulfill defense orders.
Joint defense ventures with partners, including localization of production in Ukraine, are also a priority. Ukraine is working on this, in particular, with the German concern Rheinmetall. There are agreements with American, Polish, Turkish, British partners and other countries.