The British defense company BAE Systems has signed an agreement with the UK Ministry of Defense for the maintenance and repair of equipment in Ukraine. The agreement was signed on April 8 during the British-Ukrainian Defense Cooperation Conference in Kyiv.

It is about the repair of L119 light guns, which were donated by the United Kingdom, at the expense of the British government. They will now be able to be serviced in Ukraine and returned to the front line more quickly. This will provide support for Ukraine's defense infrastructure.

"This reduces the logistical burden for the Defense Forces - previously, the repair and maintenance of this equipment took place abroad and took a lot of time. It attracts partner funds and leaves them in Ukraine. In addition, localization of repair and maintenance is the first step towards localization of production," said Alexander Kamyshin.

Gabby Costigan, Managing Director of Business Development at BAE Systems, called the signing of the agreement a basis "for us to in the future continue to add more capabilities, so that we can repair more equipment forward, so that it can remain in the fight for Ukraine". 

"We’re extremely proud to work with the UK Government in supporting Ukraine’s long term defence requirements.  Our experience providing support in challenging environments as well as our leading defensive cyber capabilities mean we’ve played a leading role in identifying solutions that will help Ukraine secure victory and we look forward to strengthening our relationship further".

According to her, the Ukrainian Armed Forces operate 17 different systems of BAE Systems , so the company wants as many of these systems as possible to be repaired domestically in the future.