Zelenskyy announced "controlled exports" of Ukrainian weapons – what are the conditions?

Ukraine will sell its weapons to the United States, European partners, and other countries that help Kyiv in a controlled manner, thus covering the shortfall in arms production. This was stated by president Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the evening address.

"I held a meeting today. The main thing is the production of our weapons. We have clear volumes of what our army needs by the end of the year, what we need for the next year, and what we need to have in our warehouses for defense, to maintain our strength. Of course, this includes sufficient funding for the production of weapons here in Ukraine, production together with partners, and the supply of what our partners produce to Ukraine," the head of state said.

According to him, starting in 2025, Ukraine will cover the shortfall in funding for weapons production, in particular, through the "controlled export" of some of its weapons, and thus increase the production of drones for the front.

"We can produce certain types of weapons – and these are modern weapons – in much larger quantities than we can finance ourselves, and we already have certain types of weapons in much larger quantities than we really need in Ukraine today. An example is maritime drones, which the world is counting on and which we have in surplus, as well as anti-tank weapons and some other types," Zelenskyy explained.

The president added that the first priority in supplies will be to supply Ukrainian brigades at the front, the second will be to replenish Ukrainian arsenals, and only in the third place will Ukrainian weapons be used for such "controlled exports."

The head of state announced that the concept of three new export platforms would be presented within two weeks: "The first platform is for exports and cooperation with the United States, the second platform is for our European partners, and the third direction is for other partners in the world who are also interested in Ukrainian weapons and from whom Ukraine has received some kind of support."

Zelenskyy emphasized that assistance from these countries is a prerequisite for the transfer of Ukrainian weapons to them.

"Today, Ukrainians, Ukrainian companies, and the Ukrainian army have one of the strongest experiences in modern warfare, and this is largely about advanced weapons and advanced technologies. Ukraine will not engage in 'armed charity' and help those who do not care about Ukraine. We are ready to work with those who really supported us and our independence," the president explained.

He also emphasized that there should be "reliable export controls" to prevent Russians and their allies from getting hold of Ukrainian technology and weapons.

"Our Ukrainian companies, arms manufacturers, have talked about this a lot. There is a lot of interest in the world in joint projects with Ukraine to produce weapons. There is also a clear demand for our weapons. Accordingly, thanks to controlled exports, we will be able to accumulate money for greater production of those things that our army needs," the head of state summarized.

• In August, defense minister Shmyhal said that Ukraine would not open direct arms exports, but will create the possibility of quasi-export for manufacturers.
• The Ministry of Defense reported LIGA.net that over the past two years, three segments of the Ukrainian defense industry have shown the greatest growth, including drone manufacturing.