Over the last two years, Ukrainian companies have replaced 50,000 Russian-made parts for the nation’s defense industry,

Over the last two years, Ukrainian companies have replaced 50,000 Russian-made parts for the nation’s defense industry, President Poroshenko said Thursday, in Kharkiv, a major military production center. Due to this import substitution program, Kyiv’s Antonov says it will resume jet aircraft production this fall. In Kharkiv, Poroshenko visited Turboatom and said the state turbine make has signed an $18 million deal with Energoatom, producer of half of the nation’s electricity. On Russia, Kharkiv’s eastern neighbor, he said that since 2014, the EU share of Ukraine’s exports has risen to 42.6%, while Russia’s share has fallen to 7.7%. He said: “Russia no longer has levers of influence to put Ukrainians on their knees.”