War equipment never ends – Ukraine wants to become an “arms depot for the free world”.

For 641 days, the Kremlin has been waging a brutal war of aggression against its neighbor and former brother nation. It is sometimes a battle between systems. Kiev strives for a place in the free world, while Moscow wants to impose its current dictatorial form of government on the country, where every critical voice is punished and human rights are ignored.

Meanwhile, Industry Minister Kamyshin has big dreams. As the country’s arms production is now gaining momentum, the country should in the future create an entire ‘arsenal of the free world’ and produce weapons for export, reports the British daily ‘The Guardian’.

“In the coming decades, defense should be Ukraine’s most important economic sector,” the politician announced in an interview in his office in Kiev’s city center. “After the war, this should become our most important export product,” he strongly recommends.

Not known as a steam chatter box
Kamyshin has already proven in his career that he can realize very large and ambitious projects. As a former railway chief, he ensured that his team would transport millions of refugees to the western borders in the early days of the war.

He has been Minister of Industry since March. Since then, his job has been to work with the army, the Ministry of Defense and 70 Ukrainian state defense companies to ensure that the army is equipped with everything it needs. Sometimes there were complaints from desperate generals that despite Western arms supplies, they were faced with a chronic shortage of weapons and ammunition. An absolute no-no when it comes to pushing back the Russians, who themselves, as we all know, are extremely poorly supplied.

Branch with a bad reputation
Before Moscow’s brutal attack, Ukraine’s defense industry was a highly opaque sector. Scandals and questionable deals put him in a particularly bad light. Even the annexation of Crimea by Russia and the difficult situation in the Donbass have not led to large arms stockpiles. The turning point only came with the invasion.

With Kamyshin, everything should be different now. On the one hand, this area needs to be revived at the state level. On the other hand, the numerous small private companies need to be well coordinated. In Ukraine, many companies have now committed to weapons. This varies from large companies to very small ones, where a few people in a hut tinker with something. According to the minister, more than two hundred companies now produce drones and have many more promising ideas.

In the long term, Kiev wants to encourage Western companies to produce in Ukraine. Hopes are high for the arms summit that will take place in the American capital Washington in early December. There, high-ranking Ukrainian officials and Ukrainian companies will meet with Western government officials and the world’s largest arms manufacturers. In this format, Ukraine can show how creative the country’s citizens are. “We’re taking Soviet missiles and putting them on Western launchers,” Kamyshin said, visibly proud.

From the granary to the armory
Ukraine also has the advantage that the weapons can be tested there directly. Because the prevailing real combat conditions are much more meaningful than the usual experimental tests. However, Kamyshin continued that the country’s entire production will be dedicated to the needs of the Ukrainian army until the end of the war. After that, mass production and export would be possible. At the same time, this would cause difficulties for Russia, causing many traditional export markets to fail.

In the coming decades, arms exports should even become Ukraine’s calling card, Kamyshin enthusiastically promised. “We have made a name for ourselves as the breadbasket of Europe, now we want to transform ourselves into the ‘arms depot of the free world’.”

To many, the prospect of one country producing weapons for the entire world may sound depressing. Kamyshin cannot agree with this: “My wife says that to me too. But then I tell her that these are the weapons that protect us.”