Smetanin will again head Ukroboronprom, the Ministry of Strategic Industry will be merged with the Ministry of Defense - Zelensky

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced in his evening address that the current Acting Head of the Ministry of Strategic Industry, Herman Smetanin, will become the head of the Ukrainian Defense Industry Joint Stock Company, which unites the largest state-owned enterprises in the defense industry.

The president also said that the Defense Ministry would be responsible not only for the military sphere, but also for managing strategic industries. This could mean a future merger of the two ministries.

"Now, Ukrainian weapons at the front, in all our operations, are about 40%. This is already much more than at any time during the independence of our state. The volumes are really large. But more is needed. (...) We must reach the level of 50% of Ukrainian weapons in the first six months of the new government's work," the president wrote.

German Smetanin previously headed Ukroboronprom in 2023, but was later appointed head of the Ministry of Strategic Industry. Before that, he worked in the management of several armored enterprises.