Exclusive: UA export control head walks you through defense export permits

BLUF: Oleksandr Pavlichenko wants to tell Ukraine’s growing defense industry that he wants warmer relations.

"We are your friends," Pavlichenko said of Ukraine's State Service for Export Control, of which he has been the head since March 2020.

But as a friend, he also wonders: why haven’t you been calling lately?

In a virtual meeting with some 50 Ukrainian defense firms on Friday, Pavlichenko said this has contributed to a misunderstanding between his agency and defense companies regarding the rules of export control.

"They have some events, and our agency is not invited... despite the fact that we are very open to any meeting," he told Counteroffensive.Pro, in his first English-language interview in years. "And I always invite our producers, our exporters to come and to discuss all difficult issues related with export control."

First and foremost, he wants to make it clear that there is no blanket ban on Ukrainian defense tech exports — a key concern from many in the industry who would otherwise be unable to grow their businesses beyond the single customer they have in Ukraine: the Ukrainian government.

“We are open to consider their applications with the understanding that some exports should occur, that it is okay to export unless we need it for our army," Pavlichenko said.

He explained that permits will be based on a risk assessment on the following criteria:

• Are the goods in question needed by Ukraine’s defense forces? Is the industry creating more of this item than the military can use or order?

• Are the goods in question needed by Ukraine’s defense industry? Are these components necessary for national security manufacturing?

• What is the risk of re-export to countries under international/national sanctions, especially Russia and its satellites states?

• What is the risk of unauthorized re-export of weapons and technologies received as part of Western military technical assistance?

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"Our main mission is to find a balance between national security... and the business interest," Pavlichenko said, acknowledging that military/dual-use goods permit refusals have risen from 10 percent pre-invasion to 31 percent in 2023.

Because the national security aspect of their work has become more pronounced due to the war, the permitting process has also become less permissive.

"The rules are tighter than they used to be before the war,” he said. “And they have been tightened due to the need to secure the necessary amount of military goods for Ukrainian defense forces, and the Ukrainian defense industry."

In 2023, the dollar figure for the amount of military goods allowed to be exported dropped to about 70 percent of its pre-invasion total.

That being said, he wants it known that he doesn’t want his agency to be a barrier to the Ukrainian defense sector’s growth, and that while there are national security considerations in play, he is supportive of the economic potential that the growing industry can bring for Ukraine’s future.

He knows that the innovative industry can be stifled in its infancy if it is not allowed to find new markets for sales beyond the Ukrainian government, particularly if these companies have excess manufacturing capabilities.

"Otherwise they could be forced to fire personnel, close their production," Pavlichenko said.

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Going forward, Pavlichenko has an ambitious plan to make his agency's work more transparent, more streamlined, and more collaborative.

One of the main barriers to the export of military tech is the requirement to receive authorization from the cabinet of ministers, which can take up to a year. "We are ready to get rid of this," he said, calling it a leftover from Ukraine’s Soviet past.

The State Export Control Agency has recently submitted a new draft law for review, which will remove this requirement. Pavlichenko sees this step as redundant, since the export control agency will still need to issue a permit after cabinet of ministers authorization has been issued.

The Ukrainian government is currently engaged in intra-governmental consultations on this draft legislation, and his agency has been involved in preliminary conversations with members of parliament on how to make progress on the change.

He also defended why defense exports should be allowed, in some cases, during a time of war. He said exports would allow for more Ukrainian jobs, greater foreign revenue for Ukraine’s budget, and the development of the domestic Ukrainian tech sector.

And, there are two main criticisms he tried to address:

1. Why should exports be permitted when soldiers need weapons desperately at the front?

No items necessary for the fight should be exported, he said — the issue in question is spare manufacturing capacity that would otherwise lay dormant.

"Why shouldn't we send [these items] abroad and get some revenue for our economy, which is really suffering?" he said.

2. How can Ukraine ask for weapons from foreign partners when it is also selling weapons abroad?

Pavlichenko said that this confuses the issue at hand. Ukraine is not selling the same types of miltech that they are asking for from foreign partners. Both sides have unique capabilities:

"We are asking for Patriot [missiles systems], but we are not selling Patriots. We are selling different weapons, or spare parts, which are not used by our army," he said.

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