As part of the development of the anti-corruption infrastructure, which is taking place in the Joint-Stock Company Ukrainian Defense Industry, the practice of personal commitments of leadership has been implemented. Director General of JSC UDI Herman Smetanin has already made them public. And now Olena Kovalyova, Director of the General Department for Compliance and Risk Management, announces her own personal commitments in the position. Remind you that these steps are an integral part of transparent reporting to civil society, which is provided by the Anti-corruption Strategy of the JSC UDI.  

Personal obligations of the General Director of JSC Ukrainian Defense Industry Herman Smetanin to develop the anti-corruption infrastructure

Joint Stock Company «Ukrainian Defense Industry» and one of the world's leading defense companies, German concern Rheinmetall AG, have established a joint venture. German-Ukrainian LLC «RHEINMETALL UDI» (RHEINMETALL UKRAINIAN DEFENSE INDUSTRY LLC) was registered on October 18, 2023. This was announced by the Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal during the German-Ukrainian business forum in Berlin in the presence of the Federal Chancellor of Germany Olaf Scholz. Notably, this is the first joint venture established with foreign partners with the participation of Ukrainian Defense Industry JSC. The basis of the cooperation is the maintenance and repair of armored vehicles transferred to Ukraine by partners. This cooperation also envisages joint production of Rheinmetall products in Ukraine and the development of advanced weapons and military equipment on the basis of the newly created enterprise with the participation of Ukrainian and German specialists. «Ukroboronprom has been working for a long time to establish a joint venture with Rheinmetall. This opens up new opportunities for the state defense industry and establishes us as a reliable player in the international arena. I am sincerely grateful to our partners for their cooperation and trust, – said Ukroboronprom Director General Herman Smetanin during his visit to Germany. – This is   a significant work done by the Office of the President of Ukraine, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Minister of Strategic Industries Oleksandr Kamyshin». Armin Papperger, CEO Rheinmetall: “Meeting Ukraine’s urgent needs in its fight for freedom and democracy as quickly as possible is a matter of central importance to us at Rheinmetall. Thanks to its expertise and capabilities, Rheinmetall has what it takes to be a valuable and powerful partner to Ukraine both in the short term and in the long run. We are pleased to have Ukrainian Defense Industry as a very capable and trustworthy partner at our side.» The establishment of joint ventures with foreign partners is one of the key opportunities that the reform of the state defense industry has opened up for the transformed Ukroboronprom. On June 28, 2023, the State Concern was transformed into the Ukrainian Defense Industry Joint Stock Company, potentially becoming a more familiar and transparent partner for international companies. Currently, the completion of Ukroboronprom's reform is the focus of the state defense industry team.

The State Concern «UkrOboronProm» and one of the world leaders in the defence industry, the German company Rheinmetall, have signed a strategic partnership agreement. The goal is to strengthen Ukraine's defence industry and its national security by establishing a joint venture. «Meeting the urgent needs of Ukraine in its struggle for freedom and democracy as soon as possible for freedom and democracy is of crucial importance to us. Given its experience and capabilities, Rheinmetall is well-placed to be a valuable and powerful partner for Ukraine in both the short and long term. In turn, Ukroboronprom, headed by Yurii Husiev, is a very reliable partner for us», emphasised Armin Papperger, CEO of the German company. According to the agreement, the basis and first step for cooperation is the technical maintenance and repairing of armoured vehicles transferred to Ukraine. Moving forward, the partners are going to jointly manufacture Rheinmetall products in Ukraine as well as jointly develop advanced samples of weapons and military equipment on the basis of the newly established joint venture with the participation of Ukrainian and German experts. «It is a great honour for me to establish a joint venture between Rheinmetall, one of the world's leading defence manufacturers, and Ukroboronprom, which increased assembly of armament and military equipment despite numerous Russian missile attacks. Working for victory 24/7, Ukroboronprom can do even more. We are grateful to Rheinmetall for its willingness to help us defeat russia», stated Yurii Husiev, General Director of Ukroboronprom. The joint venture is scheduled to begin operations in mid July 2023.

One of the Concern's enterprises and Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa (PGZ S.A.) signed the Agreement on producing 125 mm shells for tank guns. It happened during the visit of​​ the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy to the Republic of Poland. The Agreement foresees the deployment of new production lines to manufacture ammunition for 125-mm tank guns. Due to the high risk of missile attacks from the side of Russia to Ukroboronprom's enterprises, only Polish cities are being considered to host the production. However, both sides will work on the development of projectiles: Ukraine will provide its technologies and high-qualified specialists with the appropriate competencies and experience. This is the next step towards further strengthening partnership between Ukraine and Poland in the defense sphere. Recently Ukroboronprom has started producing 125-mm ammunition for tank guns together with another member state of the North Atlantic Alliance. Thus, Ukroboronprom will produce shells for tank guns in collaboration with two NATO member countries at once.

Today, March 21, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine at its meeting decided on the transformation of the State Concern «Ukroboronprom» into the Joint Stock Company «Ukrainian Defense Industry». This is the starting point of the transformation of Ukroboronprom into a modern high-tech defense company, where 100% of the shares belong to the state. «This decision opens up new opportunities for the development of Defense Industry of Ukraine: technology transfer, implementation of OECD and NATO standards, investment attraction, repair, maintenance and creation of new types of weapon systems that will bring us closer to the Victory!» – noted Director General of Ukroboronprom Yuriy Husyev. As a reminder, on October 1, 2021, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed the Law of Ukraine No. 1630-IX «On the peculiarities of reforming the enterprises of the military-industrial complex of the state form of ownership», which entered into its force on October 6, 2021. Currently, 27 member-enterprises of Ukroboronprom have already been transformed from state enterprises into business companies (LLC/JSC), another 29 are being still in a process of transformation. In general, an implementation of a corporate model of management is the best world practice, which protects the sphere of the state defense industry from corruption risks and direct political influence, because a company becomes fully accountable to the state shareholder, open to investors and predictable to partners. The transformation process of Ukroboronprom and its enterprises does not have an impact on a production of weapon systems for the needs of the Defense and Security Forces of Ukraine. Read more about the reform here: https://ukroboronprom.com.ua/en/pro-reformu

One of the enterprises of the State Concern «Ukroboronprom» became an operator of mine countermeasures in Ukraine. It received a corresponding certificate for demining and other operations with explosive objects on the territory of our state.  The enterprise has its own Humanitarian Demining Center, which employs high-class specialists.  Since 2010, the Center has been accredited by the UN as a mine countermeasures service provider and is a partner of UNMAS, the relevant service of the United Nations.  From now on, the enterprise of the Concern has the right to carry out demining, destruction and disposal of explosive objects that are unsuitable for use and storage, provide medical assistance to victims, train specialists and improve their qualifications, etc. on the territory of our country.  Specialists of the Ukroboronprom enterprise, which received a Ukrainian certificate, created tasks for the participants of the professional direction of the IDI Camp hackathon, which will be held in Kyiv on September 23-25.  The best demining solutions will receive all sort of support (financing, provision of material and technical base for implementation, etc.) from the Concern. Memo: In Ukraine, any enterprise, institution or organization meeting the relevant requirements, regardless of its ownership and legal form, can become a demining operator. At the same time, those located in offshore jurisdictions, incorporated in sanctioned countries, and originating from a state legislatively recognized as an occupier or aggressor are banned from such operations.

As of today, September 7, the State Concern «Ukroboronprom» signed the Framework Cooperation Agreement with Honeywell. Cooperation will cover the following areas: Aviation, UAVs, Navigation and Radars. This is not the first experience of cooperation between the Concern and the Corporation. For reference: Honeywell Aerospace products and services are found on virtually every commercial, defense and space aircraft. The Aerospace business unit builds aircraft engines, cockpit and cabin electronics, wireless connectivity systems, mechanical components and more. Honeywell has been working in Ukraine also in the field of civil products for over 25 years.

Before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Sir Richard Branson called on the world to support Ukraine: «We must not leave the country that has voluntarily turned over nuclear weapons in exchange for peace and which is now on the verge of being invaded by the country that persuaded it to do so.» Support of the founder of the Virgin Group has been consistent since the Revolution of Dignity.  Today, Richard Branson saw how the «Russian Peace» destroyed the two largest aircraft in the world, both of them Ukrainian: An-124 Ruslan and An-225 Mriya. Having set over 240 unbroken world records, AN-225 Mriya was more than just a plane. It was and is a symbol of our people, which is why it deserves to be rebuilt. Yuriy Husyev, General Director of Ukroboronprom, together with Yevhen Havrilov, acting Director General of the Antonov State Enterprise, Volodymyr Taftay, the Head of the State Space Agency of Ukraine and Chairman of the Servant of the People faction David Arakhamiya briefly discussed the prospects for the development of the aerospace industry and Ukraine's place in it with Mr. Branson.

Ukroboronprom works daily to strengthen Ukraine's defense capabilities. State Concern also importing weapons apart from producing and restoring weapons and military hardware for the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which is the main task of Ukroboronprom. To date, contracts for the purchase of tens of thousands of ammunition for ground artillery have been signed.

On monthly results, Ukroboronprom's enterprises surpassed a monthly plan for the supply of weapons and military hardware to the Armed Forces in May. Several enterprises of Ukroboronprom have been destroyed by Russian invaders. However, it is important for us to keep specialists who had been working or continue to work at the enterprises. That's why we are launching a hotline for appeals. Any employee whose problem cannot be solved by the company will be able to forward it to Ukroboronprom State Concern by calling +380996128329. Currently there are employment vacancies in 27 areas or professions of the defense sector. The list of vacancies is published on the website and social networks of Ukroboronprom. This week, the governments of Ukraine and Poland agreed to deepen defense cooperation. Ukroboronprom and a Polish defense company have already signed a bilateral document setting up the first joint venture. The agreement stipulates for repairs and overhauls, assembly and production of heavy weapons for Ukraine, cooperative research and development of new high-tech models of military hardware.

On May 31, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted a Draft Law No. 8307 in the 2 reading by 238 votes. This draft law, initiated by Ukroboronprom State Concern, is aimed to enable the enterprises of the State Concern to lease sites and equipment during martial law in order to house their operations to meet the needs of security and defense forces in a simplified procedure. Such property will be leased by Ukroboronprom’s enterprises without competitive procedures. The rent fee shall be defined by the agreement of the parties and agreed by the authorized entity, but may not be less than 1 percent of the book value of a rented facility. At that subleasing of such property shall be banned. The draft law also defines the list of entities that cannot be tenants: in particular, persons associated with the aggressor state. Ukroboronprom shall be obliged to inform Ukraine’s Cabinet of Ministers and the State Property Fund of Ukraine  about lease agreements concluded in accordance with the draft law on a monthly basis, as well as to publish information on lease agreements concluded in accordance with this procedure within one month after suspension or termination of martial law.