Ukraine forced to sell its own weapons during war – Reuters
In 2026, Ukraine is opening up exports of its own weapons as a way to earn money from technologies developed during the war with Russia and to attract critically important financial resources.
This was reported by Reuters.
The four-year war has triggered a boom in the defense industry, with more than a thousand weapons and military equipment manufacturers in Ukraine. Most of them are small private companies set up after the start of the full-scale invasion in 2022.
As companies rushed to develop new weapons systems and ways to counter them, the defense sector grew faster than the government could purchase its output. As a result, Kyiv is now seeking money from allies to fund domestic needs.
Ukrainian manufacturers, many of which have proven their effectiveness in combat conditions, hope to capitalize on a historic rise in defense spending in Europe.
Ukraine’s allies have shown interest in the experience and technological innovations gained during the war to strengthen their own armed forces after a long period of low defense spending.
Of greatest interest are maritime drones, UAVs capable of dropping small bombs, interceptors for other drones, and drones that operate via fiber-optic cables, making their control system immune to jamming.
Production of Ukrainian drones is set to start in Germany in February, complementing lines already operating in the United Kingdom under a joint production initiative.
As reported, Ukraine’s defense industrial base is projected to have production capacity of about $55 billion in 2026, which is 55 times more than at the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion.
Last year, more than 70% of weapons procurement spending went to domestically produced products. In addition, in 2025 the defense sector received $6.7 billion in international support, including from the European Union, the Netherlands, Norway, Germany and Denmark.
