2023-08-05 19:34:08
Alexander Kamyshin He has a plan, but little time. That is why he grants the interview in an office with half a dozen officials waiting their turn to speak with him. Minister of Strategic Industries of Ukraine. What is this ministry with a strange name – more than six words in Ukrainian – doing in a country at war? Basically, produce ammunition.
Or “iron things”, as Kamyshin likes to say. Until March, this 39-year-old man was in charge of one of the most important tasks inside the Ukrainian borders: getting the trains of a country that they bomb every day. As head of the national railway company, he got evacuate more than four million refugees, import and export essential goods, ensure the transport of the great world leaders and supply the fronts. The railway network did not stop working for a single day. Not even as the Russian columns advanced on kyiv.
Perhaps for this reason, the Ukrainian president, Volodímir Zelenski, commissioned him four months ago to lead a key ministry. In the middle of an offensive about which everyone thinks by crossing dates off the calendar, the work of Alexandr Kamyshin is essential to guarantee military success. In the war and in the logistics of Ukraine, time matters, and a lot.
You saved four million people and now you run a vital industry you didn’t know about. Is there a connection between the two?
Rail infrastructure management was also something new for me, but somehow we managed to do everything that needed to be done: protect the population, export cargo and many other things that cannot be counted. When I arrived at this ministry it felt like February 24th. Worse. Everything was destroyed and we had to start from scratch. Both industries focus on performance. Both are very disciplined and share the iron philosophy, which has been easy to transfer. Iron people producing iron things. It is easy. Although Defense is crucial in this war and the responsibilities are greater.
How do you rebuild an industry like this?
Ukraine chose the path of agriculture many years ago, without paying much attention to its Defense industry, and that philosophy of being Europe’s breadbasket was a mistake. We have to focus on becoming the world’s arsenal. And that is why we have focused on producing more ammunition and a greater variety of weapons to ensure our security.
How much ammunition is capable of manufacturing a country at war?
In the first seven months of 2023 we have produced 10 times more than during all of 2022. Mortars and projectiles [de 152 y 155mm] they are the key. 90% of the damage we inflict on Russia is through artillery. Drones are made even faster.
However, in the front line positions they complain about the lack of ammunition…
There will never be enough. Although we produce much more than the previous year, we are still far from meeting our needs. That is why we continue to depend on our Western partners.
What percentage of ammunition is Ukrainian right now?
[Se ríe y niega con la cabeza]. Nice try, but no. I am very cautious with these games so that no one can calculate the real numbers through equations. Russia fights to get them. It is intelligence. I would be stupid if I spread the figures in the Spanish press.
Speaking of the Kremlin, has the industry been targeted by Russian attacks?
Russia bombs the train tracks, bombs the factories of the Ministry of Defense, bombs civilian houses, bombs hospitals… Russia bombs everything.
So when will the country be ready to be the “arsenal of the world”?
The defense industry is already important to the economy. We are hiring people and raising wages, unlike many other sectors. So, even today, we are the main engine of the economy. In the national train company we had around 300,000 employees, if we add the private sector. A figure similar to Defense. If we become the arsenal of Europe, we will be the engine to revive the economy.
Is producing weapons to advance on the battlefield today also a way to build the future?
Our main objective is to stop Russian aggression; the second to protect our country after victory, and the third to boost the economy.
On November 12, he posted a photo at the Kherson station, just one day after his liberation. For when the photo in Crimea?
When the Army drives out the invaders, we’ll be happy to go to the Crimea. by train [sonríe]. My president has said that his dream is to spend a weekend in the Crimea, on the seashore, and I would love to be able to accompany him.
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