JRL NEWSWATCH: “Ukraine’s race to build its own arms industry” – Financial Times
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“Kyiv is converting U.S. missiles for new uses and prioritising joint ventures with western companies.”
“… [Ukrainian] Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal [said] … ‘We understand we should produce [ammunition] here in Ukraine because … [globally ammunition is] depleted …. [Ukraine learns from] its dramatic increase in domestic drone manufacturing, he said, … up from ‘a few dozen last year’ to ‘dozens of thousands’ this year. Kyiv[‘s] … budget … [will] concentrate on the ‘military defence complex,’ including air defence and artillery. … [B]uilding up a procurement industry for shells, artillery and air defence is a far more complex and ambitious … than for drones … [given] worldwide shortages of key components and raw materials. … [such as a] global ‘shortage of gunpowder’ [impacting shell production] … But 20 months since Russia’s full-scale invasion, Ukrainian officials know how essential it is to turbocharge their own industry and innovate at speed. …”