The Verkhovna Rada (the Ukranian Parliament) appointed Herman Smetanin to the post of Minister of Strategic Industries of Ukraine.
For more than a year, Smetanin headed Ukrainian Defence Industry JSC (formerly Ukroboronprom). Before that, he was in charge of the state-owned Malyshev Plant and the Kharkiv Armoured Plant.
NAKO remembers Smetanin from 2020, when he took part in a competition for the position of director of the plants. According to NAKO senior researcher Viktoriia Vyshnivska, back then his candidacy was significantly distinguished by his impeccable reputation, which is the exception rather than the rule in the state-owned defence industry.
‘Smetanin's appointment is primarily about continuing reforms in Ukraine's defence industry, as he was the one who actually implemented the very first stage of transforming Ukroboronprom from an archaic State Concern into a modern joint-stock company with which foreign arms and military equipment manufacturers can and want to cooperate,’ Vyshnivska says.
We hope that in his new position Smetanin will only multiply the previous achievements in the further stages of the reform of JSC ‘Ukrainian Defence Industry’ and in the development of the anti-corruption infrastructure of the defence industry. And, most importantly, he will contribute to strengthening Ukraine's defence capabilities.
