Ministry of Defense of Ukraine reports that the Defense Procurement Agency (DPA) has concluded the first direct contract with a Swedish industrial enterprise, the formal agreement has been signed during the three-day visit to Ukraine by Pål Jonson, Swedish defense minister. Commenting on the new step in defense cooperation between the two states, Ukraine's deputy defense minister Dmytro Klimenkov noted:
"Cooperation with foreign partners is a priority of the Ministry of Defense, which will allow us to improve the provisioning of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and strengthen the combat capability."
Read more: CV9040 is the Deadliest IFV Against russians: Soldiers of Ukrainian 21st Mech Brigade About the Swedish Combat Vehicle
According to the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, the contract was signed with the support of the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV), as part of the Cooperation Agreement signed in July 2023.
"A journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step. And on this path, there are still many projects that we have to implement in partnership with our colleagues from FMV to ensure the urgent needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, but this first step is responsible and the most important!" said the DPA director Maryna Bezrukova.
Their Swedish colleagues are also positive that this contract is only one of "many more in the future," according to Göran Mårtensson, Director General at FMV. The cooperation agreement signed last year in Vilnius enables Ukraine to speed up acquisitions by using FMV's competence and established procedures for its own contracts with Swedish manufacturers, connect to ongoing Swedish procurements and currently ongoing Swedish orders.
Worth noting, Ukraine is already operating a wide range of Swedish-made weapons, mostly donated by Stockholm, including Archer artillery systems, Leopard 2A5 tanks (local variant), Stridsbåt 90 landing assault boats, RBS 70 portable anti-aircraft missiles, and CV9040 infantry fighting vehicles which so far has proven themselves as the deadliest IFV against the russian forces, etc.
Read more: Sweden to Provide Ukraine With New Package of Military Aid Including the CV90 IFV Latest Version, Combat Boats
