El Mundo: Ukrainian Industry Minister Kamyshin built a network of hidden factories
The Minister for Strategic Industries of Ukraine, Alexander Kamyshin, built a network of hidden factories in the republic where weapons are produced. The Spanish newspaper El Mundo found out about this.
The factories are said to continue to produce ammunition and armored vehicles, but have now been moved underground due to widespread destruction in the early days of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. Some of the factories are entirely underground, others are camouflaged: they are hidden by “huge decorations”, the location of production is classified. The newspaper’s source said that the issue of maintaining secrecy is of great concern to Kyiv, since Russian sympathizers have already been found among the workers.
The classification project was led by Kamyshin, the former director of the railway operator Ukrzaliznytsia, and he was given the corresponding instructions by Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, writes El Mundo.
It is noted that the factories produce ammunition, drones, Kozak armored personnel carriers, Neptune missiles, and Stugna anti-tank missiles. Also, a source in the Ukrainian defense industry said that production volumes have tripled since its launch in 2023.
The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine announced Ukraine’s transition to its own weapons production
As the commander in chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU), Alexander Syrsky, emphasized, Kyiv does not need to wait for help from the West, but needs to launch its own production. “This is already in process, we need to increase production volumes,” he said. The Commander-in-Chief added that the republic should first of all rely on itself, and not on foreign partners.
Zelensky also said that in 2024 Ukraine will increase budget spending on the military-industrial complex, including on weapons production. According to him, the funds will also be used for unmanned aerial vehicles. “Both for the purchase of what is needed abroad and for Ukrainian production,” the Ukrainian leader noted.
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In turn, military expert, captain of the first rank of the reserve Vasily Dandykin pointed out the inability of the Ukrainian military-industrial complex to produce military equipment.
Ukraine can repair equipment, although we also strike at repair bases. But the military-industrial complex as a whole, shipbuilding plants – all this does not function, activity is reduced to repairs
The EU called for the production of weapons in Ukraine to save transport costs
The head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, emphasized that weapons for Ukraine need to be produced faster and more efficiently. “We must supply [Украине] means to protect industry and means to expand production,” he said at the European Union (EU)-Ukraine defense industry forum. Borrell noted that Ukraine “produces drones well” and Europe “can learn” from this. At the same time, the EU “has production and financial capabilities,” and the association is studying how to produce weapons on Ukrainian territory, the official said.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba, meanwhile, criticized the efficiency of the European Union’s defense industry. He proposed creating a strong defense industry market in the EU to increase ammunition production. Ukraine and other candidate countries for joining the bloc should become an integral part of it.
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