The exit of our defenders to the borders of 1991 does not mean the end of the war. Ukraine should consider options on how to further protect itself and start working on it.

So, if Russian dictator Vladimir Putin remains in power, he will plan a revenge. This opinion was expressed to Channel 24 by Ivan Stupak, an ex-employee of the SBU and an expert from the Ukrainian Institute for the Future.

How Ukraine can protect itself after reaching the borders of 1991

Today there are already first interesting steps on how Ukraine can protect itself. They have already been announced and relate to the production of weapons on the territory of our state.

In particular, British arms manufacturing companies were in Kyiv and discussed the possibility of manufacturing weapons in Ukraine. In addition, the Turkish company Baykar for the production of drones Bayraktar is considering such a possibility. And also the German armed concern Rheinmetall is thinking about building a tank plant.

It is clear that this will not happen in April-May of this year. Perhaps it will be in a year, but the processes need to be launched,” the ex-SBU employee noted.

The fact is that this requires a lot of time to organize different moments. And when the war is over, then after some time these productions will begin.

Stupak told how Ukraine will continue to protect itself: watch the video

However, according to the ex-SBU officer, it is necessary to build such facilities in the mountains or underground, since this way they will be protected from potential Russian strikes. Modern air defense systems can protect them, but there is still the risk of Russian saboteurs.

“We should already lay it down and give the green light and build it the next day after the end of the war,” Stupak stressed.

Construction of weapons factories in Ukraine: what is known

• The German tank manufacturer Rheinmetall is in the process of negotiating with the Ukrainian government regarding the construction of a tank plant in Ukraine.
• Armin Papperger, head of Rheinmetall, said that the approximate cost of building the plant will be 200 million euros. At the same time, its annual output can reach up to 400 Panther type main battle tanks.
• Armin Papperger called the negotiations with the government promising. In addition, he is sure that the tank plant can be protected from Russian shelling by air defense systems.
• Note that Panther is a concept of a new tank, developed on the basis of the Leopard 2 tank and the most convenient for countries that already have Leopard tanks in service. It was introduced by Rheinmetall in the summer of 2022.