Cabinet of Ministers to change head of Ukrainian Defence Industry

The Cabinet of Ministers has approved Herman Smetanin as the new head of the Ukroboronprom state concern [or Ukrainian Defence Industry; an association of multi-product businesses in various sectors of the defence industry of Ukraine – ed.]. This decision will be made public on 26 June, and it will enter into force on 28 June.

Source: Ekonomichna Pravda

Details: According to Ekonomichna Pravda, the cabinet approved Smetanin as the new head of Ukroboronprom on Saturday 24 June. This decision will be made public on 26 June, and it will enter into force on 28 June.

Smetanin, who is 31, is the Head of the Kharkiv Malyshev Factory.

After finishing university, Smetanin got a job at the Kharkiv Morozov Machine Building Design Bureau. After that, the design engineer worked for several years at the Lviv Armoured Plant, then as the production director at the Malyshev Factory, and after that, at the age of 28, he became the director of the Kharkiv Armoured Plant, and after a short time, he became the general director of one of the industrial giants, the Malyshev factory.

Zelenskyy has given Smetanin three main tasks: to increase the production of all weapons, to cleanse the industry of corruption and to complete the reform of the defence industry.

As of now, the maintenance of the concern itself, excluding production, costs UAH 450 million [approx. USD$12,200,000 - ed.] per year. Smetanin will be tasked with reducing these costs, and accordingly, the staff of the management structure, by at least 20%.

According to Ekonomichna Pravda’s sources, the current head of the Ukroboronprom, Yurii Husiev, failed the missile programme: "According to the UP, according to the new plans, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was promised, for example, that in May 2023 Ukrainian Sapsan missiles [export name Hrim-2  - ed.] would massively destroy the Russian military infrastructure deep in the territory of the Russian Federation."

According to Ukrainska Pravda, Husiev asked the president to transfer him to a diplomatic posting in one of the countries of Europe with which Ukraine has close defence relations, but so far Husev has not received an affirmative response from the president.

Quote: "Husiev was not just a supervisor as the head of the concern, but a direct coordinator in the missile programme. It’s a mess. There is also a ‘drone that can fly 1000 kilometres’, but no one knows where it is and who is producing it. And the president is asking: ‘Where are the missiles? Where are the drones?’"

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!