Ukrainian soldiers sit on an armored military vehicle. Photo, Fadel Senna.
Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence has signed an agreement with a local defense contractor to purchase 200 armored vehicles for the armed forces.
The 4.4-billion-hryvnia ($105.7-million) project will deliver half of the systems for combat missions and the remainder for evacuation deployments.
For the contract, the selected manufacturer will raise funds to complete the initiative, with the repayment to be fulfilled through guarantees sourced from the state budget.
Kyiv did not reveal the vehicle’s specifications or other information of the deal due to “security reasons.”
“With these contracts, we open a new page in cooperation between the Ministry of Defense and the private sector,” Ukrainian Deputy Defence Minister Dmytro Klimenkov stated.
“The conclusion of contracts with the involvement of state guarantees is an important signal for business: the state is ready to support responsible manufacturers who are able to provide the army with modern solutions and high-quality products.”
During the announcement, Ukrainian Defence Procurement Policy Director Hlib Kanevskyi revealed that the government approved a budget of 30 billion hryvnias ($721.1 million) for state guarantees dedicated to improving the Eastern European country’s security.
“State guarantees are an additional financial instrument for the purchase of military equipment for the Armed Forces with a long production cycle. With the help of such guarantees, the Ministry of Defence scales up the capabilities of the domestic defense industry,” Kanevskyi said.
Croatia announced this month that it will send Yugoslavian M-84 main battle tanks and M-80 infantry fighting vehicles to Ukraine in response to Russia’s aggression.
In October, Canada shipped a tranche of armored ambulance systems to Kyiv that were promised in June, while Spain confirmed its separate donation of Urovesa multi-purpose vehicles.
A month earlier, the Ukrainian defense agency approved the supply of locally upgraded Soviet armored personnel carriers to the military. Concurrently, the country received more than 20 Viking amphibious systems from the Netherlands.
Ukraine also approved the distribution of American Buffalo mine-protected vehicles to its armed forces as well as the domestically-manufactured Novator platforms for the national guard in August.
In June, General Dynamics proposed a deal to produce 50 ASCOD armored fighting vehicles for Ukraine, fulfilling the country’s current land-based mission capability requirements.
In January, it was reported that Japan handed over tactical vehicles to Kyiv’s warfighters to support their defense against Russia.
