FILE PHOTO: Ukrainian service members of the 33rd Separate Mechanised Brigade fire an anti-tank guided missile weapon system MILAN as they attend a military drill near a frontline, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Donetsk region, Ukraine June 13, 2024. REUTERS/Alina Smutko/File Photo
KYIV (Reuters) - Ukraine can produce four million drones annually and is quickly ramping up its production of other weapons, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in comments authorised for publication on Wednesday.
Speaking on Tuesday to executives from dozens of foreign arms manufacturers in Kyiv, Zelenskiy said Ukraine had already contracted to produce 1.5 million drones this year.
Drone production was virtually non-existent in Ukraine before Russia's invasion in February 2022.
"In extremely difficult conditions of the full-scale war under constant Russian strikes, Ukrainians were able to build a virtually new defence industry," said Zelenskiy.
Ukraine tripled its overall domestic weapons production in 2023 and then doubled that volume again in just the first eight months of this year, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal told the same gathering. Ukrainian officials gave no absolute figures.
More than 31 months into its war with invading Russian forces, and with no end in sight, Ukraine now spends roughly half of its state budget - or about $40 billion - on defence.
Ukraine also receives large amounts of military as well as financial support from its Western allies.
Russia, which is much larger and richer than its southern neighbour, is expected to hike its own military spending by 25% next year from its 2024 level, to about $145 billion.
INCREASE IN DOMESTIC PRODUCTION
Ukrainian officials say they expect foreign funding to steadily diminish while its defence needs continue to balloon. Kyiv is increasingly focused on producing as much as possible domestically.
Shmyhal said the government plans to increase spending to help bolster growth in domestic weapon production in 2025.
"Next year's budget envisages a 65% increase in funds for weapon purchases. This is an increase of almost $7 billion," Shmyhal told the forum.
He said Ukraine's strategic task was to increase its domestic long-range capabilities and create conditions to have a technological advantage over Russian forces.
Moscow forces have been steadily advancing in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region and on Wednesday claimed complete control of the small mining town of Vuhledar.
The ability to strike deep inside Russia is a priority for Ukraine. Zelenskiy has been seeking permission to use Western long-range missiles for strikes inside Russia, so far without any agreement.
"Among our strategic tasks is to strengthen the long-range capability of Ukrainian weapons, so that there is no safe place in the European part of Russia where the "debris" of our drones and missiles could not reach," Shmyhal said.
During Tuesday's event, several agreements were signed between Ukrainian and foreign companies to produce ammunition, different types of drones and also to repair Western equipment in Ukraine.
Franco-German defence group KNDS, which produces heavily armoured wheeled and tracked vehicles, announced it had opened a subsidiary in Kyiv.
(Reporting by Olena Harmash; Editing by Gareth Jones)
