Ukraine wants to have its own long-range weapons to strike deep into Russia — Prime Minister Shmyhal
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Ukraine is actively increasing the production of various weapons. Defense companies from around the world are also entering the Ukrainian market.
This was the statement of the Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal in his speech at the Defense Industry Forum.
What are Ukraine's strategic objectives?
According to Shmyhal, one of the strategic tasks is to increase the range of Ukrainian weapons so that no part of European Russian territory remains out of reach of Ukrainian drones and missiles.
"Our goal is to build one of the most modern defense-industrial complexes. The President of Ukraine has clearly defined our strategic task: "Democracy must be better armed than tyranny," the Prime Minister emphasized.
He stressed that the government has allocated 65% more funds for the procurement of weapons and military equipment in next year’s state budget.
"This is an increase of nearly 300 billion UAH, or 7 billion dollars," the head of government said.
Shmyhal added that Ukraine is already producing an amount of various weapons that would have seemed impossible in 2022.
"In 2023, weapons production tripled. And in the first eight months of this year, production has doubled again," he noted.
In conclusion, the Prime Minister noted that defense companies from various parts of the world are already entering the Ukrainian market, building production facilities, and planning investments and partnerships with arms manufacturers.
Earlier, Shmyhal stated that by the end of 2024, Ukraine plans to produce an additional 1.5 million drones. The security and defense sector has been the main priority in this year's state budget.
The Prime Minister also reported that Ukraine is continuing the implementation of its domestic missile program, as well as the production of artillery systems and armored vehicles.
