National defense will receive 60% of the budget: the Defense Procurement Agency disclosed the annual amount
Since the beginning of 2024, the State Enterprise “Defense Procurement Agency” (AOZ) under the Ministry of Defense has become the only organization responsible for the procurement of weapons for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The current budget of the agency is 7.8 billion dollars, while about 60% of purchases are provided by Ukrainian manufacturers. About this in interview “Ukrainian Pravda” was informed by the head of the AOZ, Maryna Bezrukova.
She emphasized that the agency prefers direct contracts with manufacturers, because the presence of a large number of intermediaries increases demand and artificially raises prices.
“We demand added value from manufacturers. When they complain why they don’t buy from them, I say that we have direct contact, we inspect the production ourselves and contract directly, while getting the product at a lower price.”“, explained Bezrukova.
According to her, from the AOZ budget for 2024, almost 60% of contracts are concluded with Ukrainian companies, 23% are for imported supplies, and 18% are for special importers.
Bezrukova also noted that many companies began to understand that defense procurement is a profitable market where you can make money. She told how after the start of negotiations on direct contracts with the manufacturer, a group of intermediaries immediately appears around, offering to sell products at a markup.
Since the beginning of the year, AOZ has already contracted more than 400,000 drones of various types — from small FPVs to long-range drones capable of hitting targets behind enemy lines. Most of them are produced in Ukraine.
In September, the agency reached a record low price for purchased drones — 1,300 units of DJI Mavic of various modifications for a total amount of 162.69 million hryvnias, which became a record among purchases through Prozorro.
