There is no gunpowder production in Ukraine: Ukraine's Security Council Secretary replies to critics of defence industry

Criticism of the work of the military-industrial complex, which can sometimes be heard in Ukraine, stems from a complete misunderstanding of how this system works.

Source: Oleksii Danilov, Secretary of the National Security and Defence Council, in an interview with Nataliia Moseichuk

Details: Danilov stressed that today the defence industry of Ukraine is working "at maximum capacity, and everyone is doing their best".

Quote: "These are complex processes. Believe me, what the defence industry is doing now and what the defence industry used to do, which we inherited, are completely different institutions," Danilov emphasised.

Danilov emphasised that it is physically impossible to meet all the needs of the military industry on its own.

"We live in such a world that if we had the opportunity to cover our needs 100 percent on our own, we would do it. But it is physically impossible," he said.

The Secretary of the National Security and Defence Council says that the production of gunpowder was not even established in Ukraine, and now the defence industry is critically dependent on these supplies from partners.

"Today we have the issue of cartridges, projectiles, etc. But do those smart people [critics – ed.] realise that we do not have the production of gunpowder, without which you cannot complete a full cycle? They are worth their weight in gold today. Every country today is engaged in armaments, and there is no desire to share them with anyone," the secretary of the National Security Council said.

"Why don't we have gunpowder? You have to understand what kind of production it is. You can't do it in a month, or two, or even ten," he added.

Danilov says this is mainly done by private businesses around the world, and Ukraine was no exception.

"We have a lot of private individuals who today are part of this system of military-industrial production, solving a lot of big problems," he emphasised.

"We would like to have more, but what we have now has never been the case," the official added.

Danilov says that criticism of the defence industry is mainly carried out today by people who are incompetent in these matters.

"This is said by people who do not understand what the defence industry is," Danilov said.

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