We Must Make the Cost of War Absolutely Unacceptable for the Aggressor – And We Will – Speech by the President at the International Defense Industries Forum

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Glory to Ukraine! Good morning!

Our dear developers. Our dear weapons manufacturers, everyone working for the defense of our state!

Dear guests of Ukraine, Prime Minister Schoof and everyone present!

Today, for the third time already, we are opening a truly large-scale international forum in Ukraine - the Defense Industries Forum. In the midst of a full-scale war, we are able to hold such events, which demonstrate Ukrainian strength that only continues to grow. And this says a lot, primarily, about our resilience: the resilience of the Ukrainian state and the inner strength of our people. Ukrainians can achieve great results, a major transformation, when we believe in ourselves, when we know how to unite, and when we understand that the life of our nation depends on how effective each of us - and therefore we all - can be together. And above all, truly effective - not just in presentations or reports, but in the real defense of our state, defense of our independence, which means defense of our people.

Today we have here many representatives of that very Ukrainian - I'm confident I can say - Ukrainian success and of our effective cooperation with partners. One figure alone makes it clear: since the start of the full-scale invasion, the capacity of Ukraine's defense industry has increased by tenfold. Our production potential for drones and missiles alone will reach $35 billion next year. Despite strikes, despite the objective difficulty of the very task of building a defense industry - and weapons are technologically complex, hard to design, manufacture, and field - despite all the difficulties, Ukrainians are creating their national defense product that, in certain parameters, already surpasses many others in the world. We managed to establish domestic artillery production at record speed and quality - we are now manufacturing our Bohdana howitzers alone at 40 units a month. This is a major result. We thank our manufacturers. Plus our ammunition production: last year we produced and delivered 2.4 million mortar and artillery rounds of various calibers to the front. Ukrainians are undoubtedly frontrunners in Europe in drone development and deployment. Ukrainian naval drones became a global defense sensation - they allowed us to regain control of a part of the Black Sea, which is vital for the resilience of our state and for protecting our cities - Odesa and others. For the first time in its history, the Russian fleet in the Black Sea was pushed into distant bays. The successful use specifically of naval drones by Ukraine has, in many ways, reshaped the maritime defense strategies of all the world's leading powers. Our drones that strike Russian oil assets are a significant demonstration of Ukraine's strength. Never before in history has Ukrainian defense been so long-range and so felt by Russia. And together with our other tools and with tools provided by our partners, we can count on achieving reliable and sufficient security guarantees for Ukraine after this war. We must make the cost of war absolutely unacceptable for the aggressor - and we will. And we will respond to Russia for every strike on our people, on our cities and our Ukrainian communities. Ukrainian attack drones - there are many of them - Liutyi, Fire Point, Shark, Bober, and others - are working. And doing so very successfully. You see us in action. Ukrainians supply the front with the needed types of drones - and these are colossal volumes of production and colossal volumes of supply: from usual FPV drones to ground robotic complexes. Already over 40 percent of the weapons in use at the front are our Ukrainian weapons. This is important. And it includes weapons made here, made by our people, made in Ukraine, and produced with Ukraine. And the share of our weapons will only grow. The task for manufacturers, for the Government of Ukraine, for all institutions involved is that by the end of the year no less than 50 percent of the weapons at the front must be our Ukrainian weapons, and this task must be accomplished. The same goes for the rapid deployment of interceptor drone production to shoot down "shaheds." They are still in short supply, but we are working on it, nonetheless. The same applies to the task regarding Ukrainian ballistic missiles. We have repeatedly and successfully used Neptunes - our cruise missiles - and the time will come when we can begin regularly employing our own ballistic missiles. This is one of the key security tasks for the state and for all enterprises and people responsible specifically for Ukraine's missile program. Our own effective ballistic capability is one of the security guarantees.

Dear participants!

All of Ukraine's partners around the world are aware that our production potential is far greater than the funding currently provided through our domestic resources and existing bilateral partner agreements. We need funding to unleash our full potential, and we are working with every partner who can help make this possible. I want to highlight the Netherlands. It's one of our largest defense partners, for which I am grateful. Thank you for all the defense packages provided by the Government of the Netherlands, for constant cooperation, and for the very important investments in our Ukrainian defense. We truly appreciate it. And therefore I'm grateful for it, and for your special and personal support, Dick. Thank you very much. Ukraine is already moving to the next stage - we have started creating joint defense productions with our key partners, both here in Ukraine and in partner countries. This is how we practically integrate Ukraine into the Western world, including by integrating our domestic production capabilities. It is time to start exporting our Ukrainian weapons - those types we have in surplus and can therefore export, to finance the types of weapons that are especially needed today here, in Ukraine, for our defense. I have already instructed the Government, the Office, all our team, and the Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine to develop and present the key elements of such an export system. The working title of this program is "Zbroya" - our export product. Agreements are already in place to launch export-import platforms in Europe, the United States, and the Middle East. The task is to have these key platforms operational by the end of the year. I expect that opening exports and launching new joint productions, along with attracting investment into Ukraine, will enable us to significantly scale our defense industry. Ukrainians are not warlike people, but we know how to defend our home. Ukrainians have courage. We have potential. The main thing is that we continue to ensure results together - results we all need so much. Ukrainian weapons and Ukrainian defense are truly a shared cause. I want to thank everyone who is making this cause a success. Thank you.

Glory to Ukraine!