Volodymyr Zelenskyy has approved an updated membership of the Interagency Commission on Military-Technical Co-operation and Export Controls. The relevant presidential decree No. 1030/2026 was signed on 5 October. This is stated in a post by the National Security and Defence Council (NSDC) on Facebook.
The Interagency Commission is a working body under the NSDC that co-ordinates the activities of executive authorities in the field of state export controls and military-technical co-operation. In particular, as part of exporting Ukrainian weapons to partner-country markets, the Commission on Military-Technical Co-operation reviews applications from defence companies to supply their products abroad. One of the commission’s key areas of work is also co-operation with international partners within the Drone Deal.
The commission is chaired by Davyd Aloian, Deputy Secretary of the NSDC of Ukraine, whom Volodymyr Zelenskyy appointed to the post on 15 September. Its membership includes representatives of the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, intelligence and law-enforcement agencies, the Ministry of Economy and Environment, the Ministry of Justice, the State Customs Service, the State Export Control Service, the State Space Agency, the President’s Office, the Verkhovna Rada and JSC “Ukrainian Defence Industry”.
Updating the commission’s membership will allow it to continue its work and consider applications from Ukrainian manufacturers to export military goods, the NSDC said.
“The nearest goal is to hold a meeting with the updated membership in early October. Next, to finalise Resolution No. 875, which provides for a simplified procedure for approving export permits,” Davyd Aloian said.
Read alsoWhat’s happening with the Drone Deal and when the fast track will start working. Interview with Davyd Aloian, head of the commission that makes decisions on arms exports
The NSDC added that the commission is currently considering around 80 applications. According to Davyd Aloian, during previous meetings the commission processed 40–50 applications per meeting.
The NSDC recalled that the resumption of controlled exports of Ukrainian weapons began in February 2026. Since then, the commission has held around 11 meetings and reviewed more than 400 applications, more than 90% of which were approved. More than 18 permits have also been issued for the sale of finished products, including to companies participating in the US Department of Defense’s Drone Dominance programme.
By way of reminder, on 1 July the Cabinet of Ministers adopted a resolution intended to launch an accelerated procedure for exporting weapons. However, as of October the process still has not started. Arms makers are still waiting for the Ministry of Defence to provide a list of critical items that cannot be sold abroad, and manufacturers still do not understand how the Drone Deal procedure—intended to set a framework for which countries weapons may be sold to—will work.
In particular, Ihor Fedirko, Executive Director of the Ukrainian Council of Arms Makers, claims that as of August 2026, since the resolution was adopted, the private defence sector has concluded only up to ten small export contracts. In addition, he says, only one joint venture of a Ukrainian manufacturer abroad is actually operating. At the same time, under the mechanism provided for by Resolution No. 875, as of August not a single permit had been issued.
The Council of Arms Makers also believes that provisions on the export-permit fee require revision, including paying it in advance even before the contract is fulfilled, as well as conditions that create barriers to test shipments. According to the organisation, the permit fee may amount to 20–30%.
The point that the rate for Ukrainian arms exporters is too high was also emphasised by Anastasiia Mishkina, Executive Director of the Technological Forces of Ukraine, an association of private defence-technology manufacturers, in an interview with LB.ua.
Read also“Arms export rates should be zero.” The TSU Executive Director on the non-functioning fast track and expectations from the Ministry of Defence
“20–30% of the export contract value is too much and economically unjustified, in our view. By an overwhelming majority, the TSU has stated that the rate should be zero. The decision on the so-called fast track was meant to make exports administratively easier, but these rates make them economically unprofitable. Because the price on the global market is set not by the manufacturer but by the market and competition. And this additional fee eats up all the profit, and the contract is highly likely to go to another manufacturer. In other words, through our own regulations we give a price advantage to competitors abroad,” she said.
Mishkina added that the association proposes setting an initial zero rate, and before introducing any other rate, first calculating possible scenarios.