The beginning of the summer proved very successful for Ukrainian arms makers. Ukraine was successfully represented at Eurosatory 2026, with 80 companies compared with five stands four years ago. During the exhibition, around 20 announcements were made regarding further collaboration with foreign manufacturers.
On July 1, the Cabinet of Ministers adopted a resolution opening up arms exports. On July 3, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said after a meeting of the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief: “Ukraine has reached the capacity to produce such a volume of technological weapons that, in the long term, it may exceed Russia’s capabilities.”
For more than a month, Ukraine has been successfully attacking Russian production facilities that feed its economy. We have watched with satisfaction footage of burning plants and queues for gasoline.
But does our success really open all doors for us, including for the products of Ukrainian arms makers? In a blog for Censor.NET, NAKO Senior Researcher Tetiana Nikolaienko explores whether the current momentum is enough to turn battlefield success into sustainable export opportunities—and what obstacles still stand in the way.