Page 39 - UKRRptJul24

in Europe and ranked fourth in the world, according to information from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). Ukraine's global share in the import of major types of weapons in 2019−2023 was 4.9%. India (9.8% of the world volume), Saudi Arabia (8.4%), and Qatar (7.6%) took the first three places in the ranking of arms importers. Global military spending increased by 6.8% and exceeded $2.4T. The US spends the most money on defence. In Europe, 39 out of 43 countries increased their defence spending due to the war in Ukraine. The institute also calculated that as of January 2024, the global stockpile of nuclear weapons is approximately 12,121 warheads. And about 2,100 of the nuclear warheads deployed on ballistic missiles were on high alert. Almost all of them belong to Russia or the US, who together own 90% of the world's nuclear arsenal.
Since the beginning of the war, the Ukrainian defence industry’s capacity has increased by 500%. According to Yulia Svyridenko, this includes the production of drones, ammunition, and demining machines. "Producing weapons in Ukraine is equivalent to delivering them to the front, repairing and saving lives faster. If at least half of the budget we spend on the purchase of weapons remained in Ukraine, we would get a plus 3%, 6% to GDP growth," the minister noted.
American defence giant Northrop Grumman will launch ammunition production in Ukraine. The American defence corporation Northrop Grumman plans to create production facilities for medium-caliber ammunition in Ukraine. This results from a state-funded Ukrainian government project and approval from the US government. Medium caliber ammunition is standard for many combat vehicles and anti-aircraft anti-drone systems. These projectiles can be manufactured in different versions including armor-piercing and high-explosive fragmentation with programmed detonation. The company also announced its plans to expand the production of medium calibers and start production of tank and 155-mm artillery ammunition. It is emphasized that the Ukrainian government is currently investing $2B in the defence industry, which has become a key factor for Northrop Grumman. Northrop Grumman is the world's third-largest defence company in terms of revenue, with about $32.5B annually.
Denmark will be the first Nato country to invest in the production of Ukrainian weapons; with the Netherlands, Ukraine will finance domestic defence companies. The head of the Ministry of Defence, Rustem Umyerov, announced that Denmark will invest in the production of weapons in Ukraine during a meeting of the Contact Group on Defence of Ukraine in the Ramstein format. During a meeting with the Minister of Defence of Denmark, Troels Lund Poulsen, the parties signed a memorandum for the purchase of weapons and equipment from Ukrainian manufacturers. As Umerov added, the importance of the new financing scheme is that the parties agreed on the financing procedure, which will hasten the procurement process. At the same time, a letter of intent to create a mechanism that will provide financial support for Ukrainian arms manufacturers was signed with the Minister of Defence of the Netherlands, Kaisa Ollongren. This should strengthen the Ukrainian defence industry’s production potential and ensure the supply of the most effective weapons to Ukraine’s military. The Netherlands has allocated €60M to purchase drones for Ukraine, of which €17.5M will be used to purchase Ukrainian-made maritime drones.
The EU will start arming Ukraine with money earned from Russian
39 UKRAINE Country Report July 2024 www.intellinews.com