Key points of speech by Ostap Yednak, AFU officer, Board Member, “National Interest Advocacy Network “ANTS”

Ostap Yednak, AFU officer, international relations expert, Board Member, “National Interest Advocacy Network “ANTS” NGO took part in the discussion “Arms production investments. Are Western partners ready to strengthen Ukraine’s defense capabilities?”. The event was organized by the New Europe Center in partnership with the National Interests Advocacy Network “ANTS” NGO.

In his remarks, the speaker outlined the evolution of the situation — from the complete absence of resources for the development of the domestic defense industry at the beginning of the full-scale war to the current challenges of scaling, maintenance, and financial transparency.

Key highlights of Ostap Yednak’s speech:

at the beginning of the full-scale war, the Ukrainian defence industry was essentially left without funding, resources, developments, or state orders;
in 2022–2023, foreign partners were not prepared to invest or transfer technologies due to complex authorization procedures both in Ukraine and in their own countries. However, in 2023–2024, the situation changed: the need increased for repair, modernization, and production of spare parts for a large volume of Western equipment;
the constant change of procurement rules creates legal uncertainty for brigades and enterprises, complicating planning and supply;
Ukrainian companies have grown stronger over the years of war to the extent that they no longer always seek foreign partnerships or investments;
a key challenge remains ensuring transparency and balance between identifying needs, procurement, and financing. In order to avoid conflicts of interest and increase process efficiency, it is necessary to separate the functions of needs assessment, procurement, and financing within military units;
there are questions regarding the price–quality ratio of procured products, which indicates the need for more transparent financing mechanisms.

The video recording

in Ukrainian is available here: https://cutt.ly/erXbvdvm

in English is here: https://cutt.ly/4rZcFA41.

Photo-report: https://cutt.ly/wrVgoJig

This event is funded by the UK government as part of the “Mutual Transformative Power: changing Ukraine through cooperation with wider Europe” project, implemented by the New Europe Center. The views expressed during the event are those of the participants and may not coincide with the official position of the UK government.