The state budget for 2025 includes funds to buy half of the drones offered by Ukrainian manufacturers, so Ukraine is looking for additional sources of funding.
This was stated by Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation Alexander Bornyakov during his speech at the MITS Forum US — Ukraine Defense Tech Partnership.
Drone production in Ukraine
According to him, in 2023 the budget for drones was greater than the capabilities of manufacturers, and this year they are almost equal.
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— However, in 2025, our manufacturers have accelerated so much that the money will be less than half, if not less… The need is still being formed, — he emphasized.
That is why, as Bornyakov noted, an active search for sources of financing among international partners continues.
— When we started, we said: give us some solutions, access to spare parts, technologies. Now we are saying: just give us money. We have a local market, if you finance a Ukrainian manufacturer, you will give much more benefit to Ukraine than looking for someone to make a product that is ready enough to work in our conditions today, — he explained.
And he assured that the amount of non-repayable grant funding will increase, especially for projects at the Pre-Seed stage.
— So that you understand the numbers: when we started in the first year, it was about 150 million UAH, for the next — 1.5 billion UAH, for 2025 it is planned “3 plus” billion for grant assistance, — Bornyakov said, adding that there are about 100 more funds that invest in mill-tech projects in Ukraine.
The other day, Digital Transformation Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said that Ukraine had begun providing grants for missile production.
According to him, government purchases already cover millions of shells, which, in particular, are intended for drones.
