The Ukrainian Defence Industry Council is calling on the Ministry of Defence to ensure continuity in defence procurement amid changes to the system, according to a statement by the council.
“Against the backdrop of public debate and possible changes to the defence procurement system, the Ukrainian Defence Industry Council, the country’s largest industry association of weapons and military equipment manufacturers, calls on the Ministry of Defence to ensure continuity in contracting Ukrainian defence companies and supplying the Defence Forces with the weapons they need. For us, this is not about individuals. Any personnel, structural or procedural changes must not affect the continuity of supplying the Defence Forces with weapons and military equipment,” the statement said.
According to the council, insufficient contracting remains one of the key problems facing the defence industry as of mid-August. Industry representatives estimate that only up to 25% of available production capacity has been contracted.
The council says this creates a risk not only for production but also for supply volumes in autumn and winter.
The Ukrainian Defence Industry Council therefore calls on the Ministry of Defence to:
- Ensure continuous contracting of Ukrainian manufacturers regardless of personnel, structural or procedural changes in the defence procurement system.
- Prevent a gap between existing and future orders, taking into account production cycle times and the need to purchase components in advance.
- Ensure sufficient and predictable funding for weapons and military equipment needed by the Defence Forces, including items that cannot be fully financed through available partner programmes.
- Provide manufacturers with a clear order horizon that will allow them to plan production, retain teams, purchase components and continue developing Ukrainian technologies.
- Maintain an ongoing dialogue with the industry on current contracting levels, production capacity and risks to future supplies.
“The Ukrainian Defence Industry Council is ready to provide the Ministry of Defence with aggregated data on production capacity and contracting levels and to participate in finding solutions,” the statement said.
- Recently, Tetyana Nikolenko, deputy head of the Public Anti-Corruption Council at Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence, said that Defence Procurement Agency head Arsen Zhumadilov and his team would leave their positions in the near future.
“Arsen Zhumadilov is clearly working his final weeks. And he is leaving. This is partly his own decision. Everything was heading in that direction. I had doubts as to whether the fact that the Defence Minister had also been dismissed would affect the decision. It did not. There will be an acting head for now. Then there will be a competition,” Nikolenko wrote.
- The last time reports about Zhumadilov’s possible dismissal were discussed was on 24 July. At the time, the Defence Procurement Agency told LB.ua that the entire team continued to work and described the reports as rumours it would not comment on.
- On 13 August, Our Money editor Yuriy Nikolov accused the head of the Defence Procurement Agency of sabotaging weapons tenders introduced by former Defence Minister Mykhaylo Fedorov’s team.
- The Defence Procurement Agency denied the allegations, explaining that “before launching competitive procurement procedures, the Agency must receive approved tactical and technical specifications (TTS) developed by the relevant units of the Ministry of Defence.”
“As of today, the Agency has announced and conducted procedures for all categories for which TTS have been received. It should also be noted that back in 2025, the Defence Procurement Agency introduced competitive procurement for certain categories of weapons and conducted nearly 70 tenders for UAVs and ammunition last year, while 25 tenders have already been held in 2026,” the agency said.
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The agency also said it would appeal to the Commission on Journalistic Ethics regarding Nikolov’s adherence to journalistic standards.
- Three hours later, Nikolov edited his post, removing the reference to the “sabotage” of tenders “to reduce tensions for everyone.”