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.
rumoku on March 29th, 2026 at 21:05 UTC »
People in the comments seem to be missing some important context and are interpreting the news incorrectly.
What’s actually happening is that the same companies producing drones in Ukraine have expanded internationally, setting up factories abroad and manufacturing similar drones in other countries. The key issue here is that the government has not authorised the export of defence-related drone technology. This is part of an ongoing debate, with valid arguments on both sides. In reality, though, it’s very difficult to fully control or prevent the transfer of know-how.
One of these companies already holds a government contract worth around $300 million, yet that didn’t stop them from selling drones to another country for roughly $3.5 million. There’s also an implied warning that this company may face consequences — potentially even losing its government contract, which could be reassigned elsewhere.
UPD: as others pointing out, there might be cases of stolen intellectual property related to drone development, certainly, but in this article he is not talking about it.
Aerottawa on March 29th, 2026 at 20:44 UTC »
FYI these are the type are drones designed to shoot down Shahed drones. Here is a video of them: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okQlmZJkbBk
My guess is they will be supplied to gulf countries.
relative_motion on March 29th, 2026 at 19:50 UTC »
There’s a larger story here. It’s been reported that multiple western startups and legacy arms companies have visited Ukraine’s drone manufacturing facilities under the guise that they are providing some industry expertise just for them to gather information and turn around to produce their own drones.