Ukraine is calling on its Western allies to finance its domestic arms production.

According to the FT, Kyiv’s recently increased production capacity significantly exceeds the funds available to place orders.

“The fastest way to start production is to do it in Ukraine. We are competitive in terms of prices and are close to the front line,” said Oleksandr Kamyshin, Minister of Strategic Industries of Ukraine.

He added that Ukraine can already produce modern weapons in some categories with lower costs. At the same time, the minister gave the example of Canadian drones with an average price of $87,000 per unit. According to him, Ukrainian companies can offer four different UAV models with similar or greater capabilities for $10,000 to $25,000 per unit.

Kamyshin said that Kyiv is currently negotiating with about ten countries regarding weapons production in Ukraine.

According to him, Ukraine will not become a competitive threat, on the contrary, it will help build the necessary capactity of its European allies. So far, military aid has not been used to finance Ukraine’s defense industry.