In 2023, Ukraine increased the production of mortar shells 42 times and artillery shells 2.5 times, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal has said at a government meeting.
"We expect a new growth peak in 2024. This will be facilitated by the deregulation that has already been carried out. We have established clear algorithms for the development and commissioning of products. This will attract even more Ukrainian manufacturers to fulfil defence orders," the prime minister said.
Shmyhal added that the Industrial and Defence Committee of Ukraine was established last week to coordinate the work of ministries and agencies, defence enterprises and the expert community. Its first meeting has already taken place. He said that they had made "a number of important decisions to synchronise our activities and make them more effective".
Ukraine also hopes for the support of its partners. In particular, the European Union, which has promised to provide one million rounds of ammunition.
Shmyhal said that "the EU defence industry is gaining momentum" and recalled German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's call on European countries to combine their military orders to create large-scale production.
"Ukraine is in full solidarity with this approach. This will allow us to sign long-term contracts with European defence companies, which will make military assistance stable and predictable," he said.
Shmyhal added that the priority is joint defence ventures, in particular, with production localisation in Ukraine. Work on this is underway with the German concern Rheinmetall, and agreements have been reached with American, Polish, Turkish, British partners and other countries.