The Defense Ministry of Ukraine is introducing direct contracting with global arms manufacturers, which is part of a strategy to increase the combat capability of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and expand international cooperation, the ministry's press service said on Saturday, June 8.

"We are starting a new stage in cooperation with global manufacturers of weapons and military equipment. This will allow us to receive modern weapons directly from manufacturers, which will certainly contribute to the rapid and effective modernization of the Armed Forces of Ukraine," Deputy Defense Minister of Ukraine Dmytro Klymenkov said during the signing of a direct contract between the Ukrainian Defense Procurement Agency and a Bulgarian company.