Ukraine to Export Weapons, Zelenskyy Says

(MENAFN) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced Tuesday that the country's weapons exports "will become a reality" following the approval of key operational details at the state level — a landmark shift that positions Ukraine as an emerging arms supplier on the global stage.

Zelenskyy unveiled a new cooperation framework branded Drone Deals, encompassing the production and delivery of drones, missiles, ammunition, and broader military equipment, alongside technology exchange and integration with allied defense systems. The initiative is already advancing with partners across the Middle East, Gulf region, Europe, and the Caucasus, he confirmed.

"A proposal is also on the table for our American partners," he wrote on X, the US social media company.

Kyiv intends to streamline arms export procedures while preserving robust oversight mechanisms. Critically, Zelenskyy stressed that exports will draw exclusively from surplus production — with domestic military requirements firmly taking precedence.

"Ukrainian companies will receive a real opportunity to enter partner countries' markets, provided that our military has the right to receive the necessary volume of weapons first," he said. "A surplus of production capacity in Ukraine for certain types of weapons reaches 50%."

Authorities will also compile a blacklist of nations barred from acquiring Ukrainian weapons due to their alignment with Russia — a safeguard Zelenskyy described as essential to protecting Kyiv's military edge.

"This is a serious challenge - to prevent our technologies and weapons from falling into Russian hands," Zelenskyy said.

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