A member of the NATO alliance has introduced an inventive plan intended to circumvent some of the most pressing obstacles currently hindering Ukraine’s defense production. Since Russia began its full-scale invasion in February 2022, the Ukrainian defense industry has expanded at an astonishing pace, rapidly increasing the output of critical equipment such as drones, missile systems, air defense platforms, and ammunition. This surge in activity reflects both the country’s urgent need for self-reliance and its extraordinary capacity for adaptation under intense wartime pressure.
However, Ukraine’s remarkable industrial mobilization faces a significant limitation: a defense budget that cannot sustain the level of production the nation desperately requires. Companies can only manufacture as much as government funding permits, leaving gaps in supply even as front-line demands escalate. Defense executives insist that if provided with additional financial support, Ukraine’s manufacturers could potentially increase their production capacity to more than triple the current levels — a transformation that would powerfully expand the nation’s resilience and battlefield capabilities.
Recognizing this financial bottleneck, Denmark has unveiled a crucial initiative that offers partial relief and a new model for cooperation. This modest but strategically vital step allows Ukrainian defense firms to establish production facilities on Danish territory under the newly launched “Build for Ukraine” program. The approach is designed to give Denmark direct access to Ukrainian defense technologies — renowned for their efficiency, adaptability, and real-world combat testing — while simultaneously giving Ukrainian companies the stable environment and infrastructure they need to boost weapon output in support of their own military.
By allowing Ukrainian enterprises to produce equipment within the safety of Danish borders, the initiative transforms a crisis of wartime scarcity into a mutually beneficial partnership. Danish financial resources and the political stability of a NATO state combine with Ukrainian ingenuity and combat-honed design, resulting in more predictable and secure supply lines for Ukraine’s continuing defense effort. In a broader sense, the project exemplifies how allied cooperation can translate shared strategic objectives into practical results on the ground.
To operationalize this vision, Denmark has committed over $50 million to help Ukrainian firms establish and expand local operations under the Build for Ukraine framework. The Danish Ministry of Defense has characterized the initiative as a joint weapons-production partnership that benefits both countries. Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen emphasized that, beyond helping Ukraine, the program enables Danish forces to gain easier access to state-of-the-art technology and battlefield-proven innovations emerging from Ukraine’s defense sector—knowledge that can enhance Denmark’s own military preparedness.
Numerous Ukrainian companies, ranging from large defense enterprises to smaller specialized startups, are actively engaged in producing domestically developed weapons. This new opportunity could finally provide the type of support that industry leaders in Ukraine have long urged allies to consider. They argue that permitting Ukrainian manufacturers to sell arms not only to their government but also to partner nations would significantly increase production volume and, in turn, lead to greater overall supply for Ukraine’s armed forces.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal endorsed this perspective in August, affirming that the Build for Ukraine initiative would strengthen the delivery of much-needed weaponry to front-line troops. By participating in cooperative European projects — some of which may qualify for European Union funding — Ukraine aims to ensure its soldiers are better equipped for sustained defense. Currently, however, stringent domestic regulations limit Ukraine’s ability to export defense goods, effectively freezing one of the most promising avenues for industrial expansion. Denmark’s collaborative program provides a workaround by allowing these exports to happen indirectly through production abroad, thereby enabling crucial transfers of technology, expertise, and intellectual property.
By locating manufacturing within NATO territory, Ukrainian firms gain an invaluable layer of protection. Not only is production safeguarded from Russian missile and drone strikes, but costs linked to security and logistics decline sharply. The move also aligns seamlessly with Ukraine’s broader aspiration to integrate its defense industry more deeply with Europe’s military and industrial ecosystems, creating enduring partnerships beyond wartime necessity.
Serhiy Goncharov, chief executive of the National Association of Ukrainian Defense Industries (NAUDI), expressed optimism that other European nations will follow Denmark’s example. Representing around 100 Ukrainian companies, NAUDI has long advocated for opportunities that allow co-production across borders. Goncharov explained that Ukraine’s government cannot feasibly purchase all the equipment its domestic factories could potentially produce, making international collaboration an essential mechanism for sustaining high output while ensuring mutual support between partners.
At present, one Ukrainian defense firm — Fire Point, known for its development of drones, missile systems, and other weaponry — has announced plans to open new operations in Denmark, where it intends to focus on producing rocket fuel. This project may serve as the prototype for many future partnerships expected to emerge under the initiative’s framework.
The interest, however, is not only one-sided. For Denmark and other European countries preparing for the possibility of broader Russian aggression, Ukrainian expertise offers valuable lessons in rapid production, innovation under pressure, and adaptive technology development. Defense Minister Poulsen has openly acknowledged that Denmark’s industry has much to learn from Ukraine’s. The transfer of experience from Ukrainian to Danish firms could, in turn, modernize Europe’s defense industrial base, fostering resilience across the alliance.
The urgency of Ukraine’s production expansion cannot be overstated. Kyiv’s reliance on Western arms shipments has repeatedly been tested by shortages, logistical backlogs, and shifting political priorities in donor nations. Producing more weaponry domestically allows Ukraine to reduce its vulnerability to these external constraints while sidestepping the operational restrictions often placed on foreign-provided arms. Yet budgetary limitations and the ongoing security risks of wartime manufacturing remain formidable challenges.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy recently announced that over 40 percent of the weapons currently deployed on the front lines are of domestic origin, and he aims to increase that share to 50 percent by year’s end. Multiple initiatives are simultaneously in motion to reach that goal, including efforts to reopen international export channels and strengthen industrial alliances abroad.
For many Ukrainian companies, producing on foreign soil provides badly needed relief from the constant threat of Russian bombardment. As one executive from the autonomous systems developer Ark Robotics explained, Ukrainian defense manufacturers must disperse operations across multiple hidden locations to avoid presenting large, easily targeted facilities — a strategy that, while necessary, substantially slows production and obstructs scaling. Establishing secure bases elsewhere in Europe could eliminate those constraints while maintaining crucial output.
Denmark has already been at the forefront of supporting Ukraine’s defense manufacturing. Its so-called “Danish Model” marked a precedent-setting shift by purchasing arms directly from Ukrainian producers rather than through intermediaries in Europe or the United States. This streamlined approach has accelerated weapon deliveries — notably of the 2S22 Bohdana 155mm howitzer — at lower cost and with fewer bureaucratic delays. Still, even the success of that program has been insufficient on its own to close Ukraine’s production gap, which is why Denmark and its partners continue to develop complementary solutions such as Build for Ukraine.
Together, these initiatives demonstrate how innovative diplomacy, industrial pragmatism, and allied solidarity can converge to address one of the most complex challenges of modern warfare: sustaining a nation’s defense industry under fire, while fortifying the collective strength of the alliance that supports it.
Sourse: https://www.businessinsider.com/ukraine-cant-afford-weapons-purchases-partner-gives-way-increase-production-2025-10
