State owes manufacturers hundreds of millions of hryvnias for "E-points" – Ukrainian Council of Defence Industry
Drone Industry
Manufacturers supplied their products through the "E-points" system but cannot receive payment for them. The amounts owed to individual companies range from UAH 24 million to hundreds of millions of hryvnias.
Ihor Fedirko, executive director of the Ukrainian Council of Defence Industry, reported this.
"These are mostly not the largest players in the market, for whom a delay of one or two million dollars is an unpleasant but manageable cash-flow gap. For small companies, this is money for salaries, components and the production of subsequent batches of equipment. Some of them are already having problems paying wages," he said.
According to Fedirko, the problem affects all supplies under the "E-points" system.
"Following amendments to budget legislation, the funding is awaiting approval from the Verkhovna Rada Committee on National Security, Defence and Intelligence. On the Ministry of Defence's side, this is being handled by the Department for Capability Development and Defence Technologies (DRSOT), formerly known as DVTP," the executive director of the Ukrainian Council of Defence Industry clarified.
What exactly happened?
On 10 June, the Verkhovna Rada adopted Law No. 4908-IX, and amendments to Article 28 of the Law on the State Budget for 2026 entered into force on 24 June.
The proportions for distributing military personal income tax revenues remained unchanged. The Ministry of Defence receives 60%, the State Service of Special Communications and Information Protection receives 30%, and another 10% is automatically transferred directly to military units.
"However, a new requirement has been introduced. The uses of the Ministry of Defence's 60% share and the State Special Communications Service's 30% share must now be approved by the Verkhovna Rada Defence Committee. An important clarification is that the Committee does not approve every disbursement or each individual delivery, but the general areas in which the funds will be used. Since 'E-points' are financed from the Ministry of Defence's share, this area has also become subject to approval. Fortunately, the new requirement did not affect the 10% automatically transferred to military units," Ihor Fedirko explained.
This provision was not included in the first version of the bill. It appeared while the document was being prepared for its second reading. At the same time, the law sets no deadline by which the Committee must grant its approval.
"Ironically, the law, which was generally intended to increase funding for the security and defence sector by UAH 1.56 trillion, simultaneously created yet another round of approvals that is now preventing some defence companies from receiving payment," Fedirko noted.
What are "E-points"?
"E-points" are a digital bonus system designed to motivate and equip Ukrainian service members, introduced as part of the Army of Drones: Bonus programme. Units of Ukraine's Defence Forces receive digital bonuses for verified combat results through the DELTA combat system.
"E-points" are awarded for destroying enemy equipment and personnel, carrying out logistics missions using unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs), operating sniper systems, and performing short-range air defence missions.
Units can use their accumulated points to order the weapons, military hardware, and gear they need from the official Brave1 Market marketplace.
Problem with drone supplies
Earlier, Yurii Butusov, commander of a UAV company in the 23rd Assault Regiment of the National Guard's 2nd Khartiia Corps, reported a critical shortage of drones on the front line.
"The situation with drone supplies is simply appalling. Overall, it feels as though no one in the state, apart from the troops conducting combat operations themselves, is interested in this. There have been no changes in approaches. Unfortunately, the shortage that existed under previous ministers remains under the current minister as well," Butusov stressed.
According to the commander, the troops are receiving a negligible number of drones.
"They are absolutely insufficient to support the performance of combat missions in full, or even to a limited extent. Why is that? For now, I can only state that this is the case," Butusov said.
