United to win: Ukraine plans to construct explosives factory in Lithuania by 2025

Lithuania's Ministry of Economy and Innovation has agreed to collaborate with a Ukrainian company to develop a factory that will produce the latest generation RDX (hexogen) explosives.

The Lithuanian ministry reported this.

Construction work is planned to start next year.

"We are actively developing defense cooperation with our partner Ukraine. The new explosives plant in Lithuania is a clear signal to the aggressor that we will not back down. The defense capability of Ukraine and Europe is growing and will continue to grow, both in terms of weapons and ammunition, as well as advanced defense and security technologies," the Minister of Economy and Innovation, Aušrinė Armonaitė, said.

According to her deputy, Erika Kuročkina, the new generation plant built by Ukrainians in Lithuania will significantly contribute to developing the country's defense sector. She also reminded that Lithuania has already attracted the German and American defense industry giants Rheinmetall and Northrop Grumman, who will set up ammunition production here.

"The new explosives production plant is one of several planned joint defense projects – the Lithuanians and Ukrainians are also discussing the development of drones and other defense technologies," Kuročkina said.

According to Elijus Čivilis, CEO of Invest Lithuania, the growing Lithuanian defense industry, strengthened by the attraction of high-level investments, shows that Lithuania is becoming an essential participant in the European security infrastructure.

According to the Lithuanian ministry's press service, the global market for RDX explosives is expanding quickly. This particular explosive has superior characteristics compared to other modern explosives. RDX can be used independently or in combination with other explosive substances and is designed for creating various types of bombs, mines, and so on. Military forces in NATO countries heavily utilize explosives made from this material. The estimated market size for hexane in 2023 was around 10 billion US dollars. Due to the rising demand, its growth is expected to continue in 2028, with a projected reach of 13 billion dollars.

For reference:

Since the start of Russia's large-scale invasion, Lithuania has given over 600 million euros in military support to Ukraine.

Recently, Lithuania declared it would devote 3 million euros to buying drones as part of the Drone Coalition.

Furthermore, Lithuania is in charge of the demining coalition and offers support in the realm of cyber security for Ukraine.