On February 26, Ukrainska Pravda held the event "How to Defeat Goliath." The four panels "Weapons," "Human Capital," "Miltech" and "Cooperation between government and business" were attended by arms manufacturers, officials, businessmen, volunteers, and the military.
At a panel on domestic arms production, speakers discussed the problems of interaction between the state and manufacturers. One of the challenges is that manufacturing companies need more orders, but the Ministry of Defense simply does not have enough money to contract all the capacities of enterprises.
The Chairman of the "Come Back Alive" Foundation Taras Chmut noted that in such conditions it is important not to spray resources on different types of weapons, but to invest only in what will be effective at the front.
The second panel was a place to discuss the personnel problem and mobilization. Deputy Defense Minister Nataliia Kalmykova said that TCR employees are now prescribed standard operating procedures and trained to learn how to solve the problems of mobilized citizens.
The official also shared the positive result of the recruiting campaign. "Even for the positions of shooters there are ten resumes for one vacancy. We now have the opposite problem, when the employer cannot answer all the candidates," – Kalmykova said.
The outcome of the war with Russia will largely depend on the technological race. Ukrainian engineers and designers in many segments successfully confront the enemy, but the speakers from the third panel dedicated to mil-tech are convinced that time is now playing against Ukraine.
He also noted that many engineering solutions needed at the front are not scaled at the state level. Many components have to be bought by the military or volunteers themselves.
"The state needs our help, sometimes we come to the Ministry of Defense and offer our solutions, for example, to provide military food. We ourselves are looking for a way to power, but we do not see the initiative on their side," – said Ruslan Shostak, President of TERWIN Corporation.
A common problem mentioned on each panel was the lack of dialogue. Between the military and the Ministry of Defense, between customers and weapons manufacturers, between the state and business.
"The first months of the war we survived thanks to our unity. Now we lack this unity," – summed up Sevgil Musaieva, editor-in-chief of Ukrainska Pravda.
The event took place in the
Big Exhibition Hall of the Congress and Exhibition Center. Parkovy was also presented as an event partner.
