Western defence firms wary on Ukraine's weapons production pitch
Thu, June 22, 2023, 7:44 AM EDT
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By Valerie Insinna and Joanna Plucinska
PARIS, June 22 (Reuters) - Western defence companies are interested in making weapons in Ukraine - but not until after the war, according to half a dozen executives contacted by Reuters at the Paris Airshow.
Ukraine is desperate to boost its weapons arsenal, from drones and munitions to tanks, as it battles to repel Russia's invasion. It's also looking to boost job opportunities and stabilise an economy ravaged by war.
On Monday, a Ukrainian deputy minister told Reuters that Kyiv was in talks with defence companies in Germany, France, Italy and eastern Europe to potentially make weapons in Ukraine.
But company executives at the world's biggest aerospace industry gathering said there was currently too much risk.
"You just have to think about more broadly, the state of the situation ... and the risk associated with that co-production," said Greg Ulmer, who leads U.S. defence giant Lockheed Martin's aeronautic business and was not aware of any direct discussions with Ukraine on co-production activities.
Representatives from two major defence companies confirmed they had heard about the Ukrainian initiative, with one adding his company was prepared to sign a letter of intent to discuss an industrial partnership in Ukraine once hostilities end.
But none of those interviewed expressed an interest in investing directly while the war rages, with security the top concern.
NO EASY TASK
Germany's Rheinmetall said last month it had set up a joint venture with Ukrainian state-owned conglomerate Ukroboronprom to build and repair tanks in Ukraine.
In May, President Volodomyr Zelenskiy said Ukraine was working with Britain's BAE Systems to set up a Ukrainian base to both produce and repair weapons from tanks to artillery.
But executives noted that repair sites are easier to set up than full-scale assembly lines.
And former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, a close ally of current President Vladimir Putin, has said
Russia would retaliate by hitting any facility Rheinmetall set up in Ukraine