63 Ukrainian defence firms now hold Defence City status, up from 31 in May
Ukraine's Defence Ministry says 63 defence enterprises are now Defence City residents, more than double the number at the end of May. Their qualified weapons revenue totals almost UAH 111.3 billion.
Sixty-three Ukrainian defence enterprises have become residents of Defence City, a special legal regime for arms makers, Ukraine's Defence Ministry said on 19 October. The number has more than doubled since the end of May.
According to the ministry, there were 31 residents in late spring, 45 in July and 63 now. That is 32 more companies than in May, and 18 more than in July. The ministry did not give exact dates for the earlier counts or name the new residents.
Revenue of residents
The ministry said the residents' combined "qualified revenue" from sales of weapons and military equipment is almost UAH 111.3 billion. It did not explain how qualified revenue is defined, over what period it was earned, or how it compares with the sector's total output.
By a simple RealUA calculation, that is roughly UAH 1.8 billion per resident on average. The average hides large differences between companies, and the ministry gave no breakdown.
What residents get
The ministry describes Defence City as a regime meant to give manufacturers more room to invest in development, scale up production and protect their teams and facilities. Residents are entitled to:
- tax and customs incentives;
- opportunities for relocation;
- rental of state property without auctions;
- restricted access to sensitive information about them in public registers;
- simplified versions of some export procedures.
The ministry did not give rates, thresholds or the legal basis for individual incentives in its announcement. It also published an explainer on how defence companies can obtain resident status. RealUA has not reviewed that guide, which the ministry linked from its post.
Why it matters
Ukraine's defence industry has expanded sharply during the war, and the government has been adding financial and legal support for it. RealUA reported on 14 October that defence companies had secured more than UAH 12.5 billion in subsidised loans under 211 contracts, with borrowers paying 5% a year. On 11 October, Defence Minister Yevhenii Khmara said the ministry wants to shield defence-industry workers from mobilisation as far as possible.
Restricted registry access and relocation options address security concerns, since Russia regularly targets Ukrainian arms producers. Simplified export procedures matter commercially because many Ukrainian firms have capacity beyond what the state budget can buy.
The figures come from the Defence Ministry and have not been independently verified. The ministry did not say how many companies have applied for resident status or how many have been refused.
