Over UAH 40 billion to be allocated for the Army of Drones in 2024 – Shmyhal
In 2024, the Ukrainian government plans to allocate about UAH 48 billion to fund the drone army. The same amount will be spent on the production of weapons and ammunition.
This was announced today at a press conference by the Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal.
– “The focus of our production is drones. The Ukrainian Army of Drones is fully launched and working. UAH 40 billion has been funded by the government this year. We will continue this funding,” he stressed.
Shmyhal specified that funds will be allocated for the production of ammunition, military equipment, armoured vehicles and the Ukrainian missile programme.
Expenditures are planned to be financed through personal income tax (PIT).
According to estimates, in 2023, the amount of personal income tax will be about UAH 96 billion. These funds will be allocated to the defence sector. Approximately half will go to the production of weapons, equipment and ammunition, and the other half will be spent on the Drone Army.
As you know, the Drone Army initiative was launched in 2022. Since then, donors from dozens of countries and companies have supported the fundraising for drones for the Ukrainian army. The world’s first drone strike companies were formed.
Ukraine also launched its own production of drones for the Armed Forces. The government noted that the production of some categories of drones had increased 100-fold compared to last year.
To facilitate the production of drones, Ukraine has cancelled VAT and import duties on components.
