NSDC secretary sees tangible progress in Ukrainian defence sector

"I am confident that time will come and the leading countries which are now afraid to supply weapons to Ukraine will be standing in line to buy our defensive hardware, Ukrainian armaments. This time will come," he told reporters at a range in the Kyiv region where the BTR-3E armored personnel carrier was tested. According to the NSDC secretary, Ukrainian authorities put an emphasis on bolstering the security sector and the combat capacities of the army. "The delivery of lethal weapons and modern military technologies to Ukraine is still blocked. So, we only have one way out of this situation: we can fully rely on our own forces and potential," Turchynov said. The Kyiv Armor Plant, which makes the new armored personnel carriers and repairs the old ones, is one of the best defence enterprises in the country, and former President Viktor Yanukovych's administration wanted to destroy it, he said. "The BTR-3E combat vehicle is much better than Russian analogs, even the latest analogs produced by the Russian defence sector," the NSDC secretary claimed. Turchynov added that the Ukrainian defence sector would completely stop using Russian component parts. Component parts are made in Ukraine and engines are supplied from Germany, he said. "As you can see, not only oligarchs but also our servicemen are riding vehicles powered by Mercedes engines in Ukraine," he said.