None of Ukraine’s ten largest defence companies is state-owned, while six or seven of them belong to the National Association of Ukrainian Defence Industries (NAUDI).
NAUDI Chairman Serhii Pashynskyi said this in an RBC-Ukraine special project.
According to his assessment, the Association’s companies have already significantly surpassed the state sector in terms of the volume of products supplied. “Weapons should not be produced solely by the state. This is already a fact,” Pashynskyi stressed.
According to the NAUDI chairman, the state has already invested more than UAH 60 billion in the fixed assets of the defence-industrial complex. The private sector did not receive any of these funds.
At the beginning of 2025, the production capacity of Ukraine’s defence industry was estimated at $35 billion per year. Available funding covers no more than one-third of this potential. The industry’s capacity could subsequently grow to $60 billion, with more than $35 billion coming from the production of long-range weapons.
Controlled exports could become one source of additional orders for the industry. Ukrainian companies belonging to NAUDI present their developments at international exhibitions, negotiate with foreign governments and defence corporations, and establish joint ventures. However, a fully fledged mechanism for arms exports has still not begun operating properly.
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The problem lies not only in the absence of a political decision but also in complicated and opaque regulations. Manufacturers lack clear procedures, time frames and criteria for obtaining permission to export products that are not required for the current needs of the Defence Forces. As a result, companies cannot properly plan production, conclude long-term contracts or attract foreign investment.
At the same time, controlled exports must take security restrictions into account to avoid creating risks to Ukraine’s defence capability.
Launching such a mechanism would make it possible to utilise spare production capacity, attract additional investment, and retain engineering and production teams. This concerns products that companies are capable of manufacturing beyond the volumes required to meet the funded needs of the Defence Forces.
Pashynskyi believes that Ukraine can offer its partners not only individual weapons systems but also comprehensive security solutions: intelligence, software, operator training, the integration of various capabilities into a unified system, and the continuous updating of tactics in response to new threats.
“In any normal defence contract, weapons and ammunition account for only 50% of the price. The other 50% covers training, deployment and use. We can not only sell weapons but also share our experience of using them in real combat conditions,” NAUDI Chairman Serhii Pashynskyi said.
As a reminder, a pre-premiere screening of the documentary Weapons of Independence, produced by MIR & CO PRODUCTION, took place in May. The film recounts the transformation of Ukraine’s defence-industrial complex – from its post-Soviet decline into one of the key factors in the country’s survival during the full-scale war.
The film is based on the personal stories of military personnel, engineers, inventors and volunteers. They describe how a country that lost a significant portion of its defence capabilities after the collapse of the Soviet Union was forced to rebuild its army virtually from scratch and develop modern weapons while already engaged in hostilities.