Significant working capital of arms manufacturers frozen due to exchange rate – Ukrainian Armor Director General Vladyslav Belbas

Vladyslav Belbas, the Director General of the Ukrainian Armor, a large arms manufacturer, writes about the problems of financing the defense industry in a blog on Ukrainian Pravda.

"Due to the sharp rise in the exchange rate of foreign currency, companies are faced with the fact that the calculated value under the contract differs significantly from the real one. The calculation of the value of the products under the contract a few months ago was made at one exchange rate, say 42 hryvnias per euro, and today's euro already is 46 hryvnias. Tens of millions of working capital, which should have been spent on development, are being frozen," says the Director General of Ukrainian Armor, a manufacturer of armored vehicles, mortars and ammunition.

Belbas also points to the lack of long-term planning: "The topic of long-term contracts for the defense industry is just PR. As of today, there are no signs that anyone is going to launch this mechanism. After all, in order for long-term contracts to work, it is necessary to make changes to legislation and regulations. These changes are not even being discussed now."

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