The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine has signed two agreements with domestic defense contractors worth almost UAH 5 billion.

The defense ministry’s press service announced this on Tuesday, July 30.

The agreements were signed between the Defense Procurement Agency of the Ministry of Defense and enterprises of the Ukrainian defense industry during a working visit to the regions by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky and Defense Minister Rustem Umerov.

“This is extremely important for strengthening the defense capabilities of our country. After all, we buy and maintain our own equipment, contributing to the development of our economy and industry,” the head of the defense ministry said.

Also during the trip, Volodymyr Zelensky and Rustem Umerov visited defense industry enterprises to familiarize themselves with their work.

“We continue to invest in Ukrainian producers, significantly strengthening our defense capabilities. The increase in production volumes confirms the effectiveness of the joint work we are doing with the Ministry of Strategic Industries of Ukraine. This is our key priority,” Deputy Defense Minister Dmytro Klimenkov said.

Since the beginning of 2024, the Ministry of Defense has codified and authorized more than 60 domestic ammunition samples of various types for use in the Ukrainian Defense Forces.

Among them are ammunition for drones, mortar shells, artillery shells, close combat equipment, and small arms ammunition.

However, the majority, namely 50 samples, are ammunition for drones for various purposes.

In particular, these are high-explosive, high-explosive fragmentation, combined-action, and multi-purpose munitions. In addition, they have different weights: from several hundred grams to more than several kilograms.

The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine recently approved a draft law on increasing state budget spending on defense.

The bill provides for an increase in financial support for the security and defense sector by UAH 495.3 billion. In particular, the funds will be allocated for weapons, fortifications, and military salaries.