Anna Gvozdiar at meeting with the IMF mission: Ukraine’s defense industry has transformed into a robust innovation sector in three years

Deputy Minister of Defence of Ukraine Anna Gvozdiar met with the IMF mission led by Gavin Gray. During the meeting, the parties discussed the 2025 performance of Ukraine’s defense industry, its development dynamics, key challenges, and the country’s strategic plans for 2026 and the medium term.

Anna Gvozdiar emphasized that the defense industry is a strategically important sector of the economy that ensures the country’s resilience in wartime.

“Ukraine has endured thanks to the bravery of our military, the support from our partners, and our ability to rapidly restore and increase arms production. Over the past three years, we have transformed a small sector into a dynamic industry that has become the backbone of our defense capability,” said Anna Gvozdiar, Deputy Minister of Defence of Ukraine.

In 2025, Ukraine’s defense industry is demonstrating one of the fastest growth rates in Europe. The defense industry's capacity has grown from $1 billion in 2022 to $35 billion, and the network of defense production facilities has expanded to around 900 enterprises, most of them privately owned. A robust innovation ecosystem has emerged around the defense industry, uniting more than 2,000 teams working on advanced technologies, components, and solutions for the frontline. Ukraine has significantly increased ammunition production and scaled up the manufacture of missile weapons.

Particular attention was given during the meeting to the financing model for the defense sector. The Deputy Minister stressed that Ukraine’s domestic resources are limited: “We have reached a level of production that far surpasses our domestic procurement capacity. Support from our partners is critically important to sustaining the industry's momentum and expanding its capacity.

The meeting also addressed the role of the defense industry in the national economy: in 2023, GDP grew by 5.5% (with the defense industry accounting for 1.5%), and in 2024, growth reached 2.9% (with the defense industry accounting for 1.2%). This demonstrates that the defense industry not only supports the needs of the military but also serves as a significant driver of the country’s economic stability and technological progress.

Anna Gvozdiar expressed gratitude to the IMF mission for its cooperation and its focus on strengthening Ukraine’s defense industry: “It is important to us that the IMF views the defense industry not only as a wartime necessity, but also as a key element of economic development and post-war recovery. Ukraine’s industry has become a symbol of our resilience and of our ability to drive innovation amid the largest war in Europe since World War II.”