Edmond Huet

Nearly a decade after his 2016 warnings on systemic failures in Ukraine’s defense-industrial ambitions, French arms expert Edmond Huet—now a combat veteran and business founder in Ukraine—says the country has made clear advances on the battlefield but remains structurally constrained by mismanagement, entrenched corruption, and missed industrial opportunities. In a new interview with Defence Blog, Huet provided an unvarnished assessment of Ukraine’s current military and industrial state, nine years after his last formal comments. Since then, he has settled in Ukraine permanently and played an active role in the country’s defense. A veteran of the French Armed Forces, Huet joined a territorial defense unit during Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022. He fought in the defense of Kyiv and the Battle of Brovary, later becoming the only foreign resident in Ukraine granted official permits to own and carry firearms. Today, he actively advises both military and civilian personnel on weapons use, tactical training, and counter-drone measures. “I use my weapons to train defenders and promote defense against FPV drones,” Huet said. He also founded a company distributing rifle-mounted silencers and grenade launchers produced in Ukraine, based on prototypes he originally engineered in France. “I am trying to give more firepower to the fighter by using individual arms in a more polyvalent and flexible way,” he added. Huet painted a grim picture of Ukraine’s defense-industrial modernization efforts. Despite the war and a heavy financial burden—he says Ukraine funds one-third of its war costs independently—major reform goals have not materialized. “No small arms ammunition plant has been built,” Huet said. “Millions have disappeared during the tenure of the former administration, paid to enterprises without real existence in Ukraine and abroad.” He claims faulty ammunition and overpriced equipment continue to enter Ukraine’s military supply chain, with optics and small arms sold domestically at two to five times their international market value. “Unfortunately, the declarations about ending monopoly in defense industries and fighting corruption have remained just that—declarations,” he said. “Sometimes it gets worse, with anti-corruption activists switching sides or remaining inactive.”While critical of state-level procurement and industrial delays, Huet acknowledged that Ukraine has developed a strong edge in new forms of warfare. “Ukraine is far advanced in drone war, robotic land systems, and naval drones,” he said. “The country is slowly shifting to a more modern organization, both in industry and the military.” He added that some of the obstacles he identified in 2016 remain, but pressure from the war and recent reforms are beginning to address them. “Western governments now understand the real nature of this war and of Russia. They understand this is a hybrid war against the democratic model of Europe,” he said. According to Huet, Western nations have been slow to support Ukraine in a way that aligns with the speed and flexibility needed on the ground. “France and other European nations work on large-scale programs that benefit major corporations,” he said. “These will take years and billions in funding. What Ukraine needs is support from small and medium-sized enterprises able to act fast.” Huet’s own recent involvement has been limited to volunteer organizations and the development of unregulated products within a legal structure. He remains skeptical of many Western firms that approached the Ukrainian market without proper cultural or technical understanding. “Some saw Ukraine like a cheap-labor Asian country and hired staff with no knowledge of the sectors they planned to invest in,” he said. “They ran into dead ends and paid a high price—some of them large corporations.” “Where are the Airbus helicopters? Where are the light weapons? Many prefer to wait for the war to end, thinking postwar reconstruction will be safer.” Huet warned that time is not on Ukraine’s side. He highlighted the continued emigration of both young talent and experienced professionals as a threat to the country’s future capacity. “War will not not be won quickly without backing strong Ukraine now and may be lost, giving Russia the use of Ukraine ressources, industry and manpower just like nazi Germany did with Czech industries and other European ressources.”

Edmond Huet

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