Ukraine’s Cabinet of Ministers appointed Hanna Hvozdiar deputy defense minister on Tuesday, Sept. 8, tasking her with scaling up weapons production and expanding exports as Kyiv races to arm its front lines faster.
Hvozdiar will oversee Ukraine’s defense industry, the defense ministry wrote, inviting the ex-CEO of Ukraine’s largest military charity fund, Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundation, back in the ministry’s offices.
The appointment is part of a broader effort to strengthen the ministry’s team for developing Ukraine’s defense industry and speeding up supplies to the front, the agency wrote in its press release.
“Our task is a strong Ukrainian defense industry that gives the front what it needs now and creates a long-term advantage for Ukraine,” the press release quoted Defense Minister Yevhen Khmara.
The ministry named front-line supply as the top priority for Hvozdiar’s work, saying Ukrainian soldiers must receive enough domestically made weapons on time and in sufficient quantity to counter Russian threats on the battlefield, which will require manufacturers to increase output and gain more capacity to scale.
A separate focus for Hvozdiar will be exporting Ukrainian defense products whose output exceeds front-line needs, an area the ministry wrote could help build mutually beneficial partnerships with Ukraine’s allies and attract additional financing for the country’s defense.
The defense ministry said it will work toward predictable and clear rules for producers, continue direct dialogue with the defense industry, and create conditions for scaling up production.
Hvozdiar previously served as deputy defense minister from July 2025 to January 2026, after which she worked as advisor to the minister. Before that, from September 2023 to July 2025, she was deputy minister for strategic industries, where her projects included launching Zbroya, Ukraine’s only online platform for weapons manufacturers.
Prior to entering government, Hvozdiar worked at the Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundation, serving as deputy director in 2021-22 before leading the foundation in 2022-23.