Ukrainian defense companies have, for the first time since the start of the full-scale war, received approval to export their own products, as Kyiv seeks additional funding to grow its domestic defense-industrial base.
Rustem Umerov, secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, announced the first licenses for manufacturers in a Facebook post. Kyiv recently made the politically delicate decision to export weapons, looking to raise capital to expand its defense industry and to use innovative arms as diplomatic leverage to bolster its political alliances.
“Controlled arms exports are about state security and the development of our defense-industrial complex. They open the way to new security alliances and expanded international partnerships. The President of Ukraine set the task of opening exports of Ukrainian weapons in a controlled format. We are fulfilling it,” Umerov said.
Following a meeting of the Interagency Commission on Military-Technical Cooperation and Export Control Policy, Ukrainian defense-sector enterprises received their first permits to export goods. In his social media statement, Umerov did not specify how many companies were licensed but said Ukraine’s annual production capacity in the sector exceeds $55 billion.
“Coordinated exports make it possible to attract investment, scale production and launch new technologies for the Ukrainian army. Ukraine’s defense industry has proven its effectiveness in the war. Our task now is to turn this experience into long-term industrial strength and a component of shared security with partners,” the NSDC secretary added.
Since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, Ukraine’s defense sector has boomed and now counts more than 1,000 companies, most of them new private ventures.
President Volodymyr Zelensky announced the start of exports of Ukrainian defense technologies in February 2026. He said production of Ukrainian drones will also begin in Germany this month, with manufacturing lines operating in the United Kingdom as well.
