"The private sector is now permitted to manufacture ammunition," stated Oleksandr Kamyshin.

"In the defense industry, we are witnessing a growing number of private companies producing specific types of ammunition and their components," Minister of Strategic Industries Oleksandr Kamyshin mentioned during the "Ukraine: The Year is 2024" forum.

"Today, private manufacturers are authorized to engage in ammunition production. Particularly, private companies lead in the production of ammunition for drones. Similarly, there is an increasing private sector involvement in producing components for artillery mortars," the minister added.

Kamyshin highlighted that the market liberalization process in the defense industry is ongoing, enabling more private companies to participate in it.

▫️ Presently, there are a total of 500 military-industrial enterprises in operation. Among them, 100 are state-owned while 400 are privately owned. The workforce in the defense sector comprises approximately 300,000 individuals.

▫️ In 2023, Ukraine witnessed a significant surge in ammunition production. The production of mortar ammunition skyrocketed by 48 times, while artillery shell production increased by 2.8 times.

▫️ A key objective for 2024 is to reduce the cost of weapons production. For instance, the target price for the effective utilization of an FPV drone is set at $1,000.

▫️ Ukrainian industry is gearing up to significantly ramp up the production of robotic ground drones in 2024.