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

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has stated that Ukrainian companies have built about 10 interceptor drone production plants behind the state's back in various parts of the world, which is harming Ukraine's domestic production.

Source: Zelenskyy during a video call with journalists on 28 March, to which Ukrainska Pravda was not invited, 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 lose anything [revenue – ed.]. I believe they will lose something."

Details: According to Zelenskyy, one company 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 ended up. That's not a problem. We could have simply given these interceptors to this partner free of charge. In principle, today 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 that the company had raised concerns about losing 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 on an official visit. They were also sold a certain number of interceptors – again without explosives. And they ask me: Can we send more operators? I said no," Zelenskyy added.

He recalled that the company which sold the drones for US$3.5 million had received a €300 million contract from the state. "Frankly speaking, it sounds rather unserious," Zelenskyy noted.

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