Zelenskyy says 10 Ukrainian interceptor drone factories have been built "behind the state's back"

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has stated that Ukrainian companies have built around 10 interceptor drone production plants "behind the state's back" in various parts of the world, to the detriment of Ukraine's domestic production.

Source: Zelenskyy during a video call with journalists on 28 March, as reported by Interfax-Ukraine

Quote: "I am aware of about 10 factories that have been built behind the state's back in different parts of the world simply so that, God forbid, they don't lose out [on revenue – ed.]. I believe they will lose out."

Details: According to Zelenskyy, one company has sold 1,000 interceptor drones to a certain country for US$3.5 million.

"[The figure is] in dollars, just so it's clear which country and where these interceptors have ended up. That's not a problem. We could have simply given these interceptors to this partner free of charge. In principle, right now we can produce up to 2,000 a day, but we only have funding for 1,000. So this is not an issue," he said.

Zelenskyy said the company had raised concerns about losing out on export opportunities. However, he believes that they are "harming Ukrainian exports". He added that the country which purchased the interceptors later approached Ukraine because they lacked warheads.

"I was also in another European country recently. I was there on an official visit. They had also been sold a certain number of interceptors – again without explosives. And they asked me whether we could send more operators. I said no," Zelenskyy added.

He added that the company which sold the drones for US$3.5 million had received a €300 million contract from the state. "To be honest, it doesn't sound very serious," Zelenskyy noted.

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