Photo: ERA
Less than half of Ukraine’s defence companies are currently ready to enter the international market. President Volodymyr Zelensky recently announced that Ukraine will open its first two arms export offices in Berlin and Copenhagen by the end of 2025, with strategic adviser Oleksandr Kamyshin overseeing the process.
According to National Security and Defense Council Secretary Rustem Umerov, the first actual export contracts are expected to be signed no earlier than the second half of next year. He explained that the defence export market operates slowly, as foreign partners require extensive testing, certification, and complex procurement procedures before finalising agreements.
Umerov added that while all Ukrainian defence firms will eventually have the opportunity to sell their products abroad, fewer than half of the country’s more than 1,000 companies are currently prepared to meet the necessary technical standards and obtain export permits.
Kateryna Mykhalko, Director of the Technical Forces, previously noted that Ukrainian arms producers must pass two stages before entering foreign markets — receiving an export licence from Ukraine and overcoming the regulatory barriers of the importing country. The process, she said, can take anywhere from six months to several years.
