During a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron on September 4, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced specific agreements on arms production within the so-called “coalition of the willing.” The President noted that the current production capacities of the European defense industry remain insufficient to meet security needs.
This is reported by Kyiv24
Challenges and Prospects of Europe’s Defense Industry
During the event, Zelensky emphasized that the volume of weapons production in Europe must be significantly increased, and the speed of arms creation must rise. He stressed that there is currently an “understanding of how to scale up” these capacities and added that it is important to move towards increasing production rates.
“We note that European production lines are currently underperforming, but it is clear how to scale them up. The volumes must be larger, and the speed must be greater,” Zelensky stated.
The President highlighted that Ukraine has considerable production potential that is not fully utilized, primarily due to a lack of funding. According to him, about 60% of the weapons used by Ukrainian defenders are produced by domestic enterprises, demonstrating the success of the Ukrainian defense industry.
Technological Leadership and Support for Ukraine
Zelensky emphasized the necessity of Europe’s technological leadership, which is ensured by the development of its own industry, job creation, attracting investments, and active interaction and competition in the global market. Ukraine, according to the President, supports Europe’s leadership positions in the process of forming new security guarantees.
French President Emmanuel Macron noted during the press conference the significant progress Ukraine has made in the production of unmanned aerial vehicles and expressed his intention to facilitate further development of the country’s defense capabilities, particularly in the area of self-manufacturing weapons.
In August, it was reported that the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense had approved over 25 models of Ukrainian unmanned interceptors for use in the Armed Forces. Additionally, on July 18, President Zelensky instructed Defense Minister Denys Shmyhal to promptly finalize all necessary contracts to provide the Ukrainian Defense Forces with drones.