How Ukraine learned to procure at the speed of war
The first paper in the Lessons from Ukraine series is out. Lessons from Ukraine is a standing publication series under the Centre for Statecraft & National Security (King’s College London) Ukraine and Russia Programme, which channels leading Ukrainian defence and security analysis directly into UK policy debate. This first paper is co-published with Sahaidachnyi Security Center.
The paper shows how Ukraine moved from a slow, opaque procurement system to an agile digital model in which combat units choose the fast-evolving technologies they need through market places like DOT-Chain Defence and Brave1 Market, initiatives like ePoints and the Line of Drones, and Prozorro platform ensuring transparency of tenders.
For the UK, the authors set out six recommendations:
▪️ train and assign dedicated procurement officers and a technical trade at brigade level, sitting with the units flying the systems;
▪️ build a competitive supply side: 70% of funding for combat-proven solutions, 30% for systems under operational testing;
▪️ open a centrally contracted, unit-chosen marketplace for consumable technologies;
▪️ set a 30-day decision clock below ministerial level;
▪️ specify the conditions a system (not the product) must survive, and buy support as part of the capability;
▪️ learn from the front, not the capital: place technical and procurement personnel with Ukrainian units, corps technology centres and repair labs, and share data through CORPUS.
Authors:
▪️ Dr Elena Davlikanova — Senior Fellow, Sahaidachnyi Security Center and the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA); Research Fellow, Department of War Studies, King’s College London;
▪️ Polina Istomina — UK-Ukraine Programs Specialist, Sahaidachnyi Security Center;
▪️ Dr Jade McGlynn — Head of the Ukraine and Russia Programme and Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Statecraft & National Security, King’s College London;
▪️ Chris Pool — Visiting Fellow, Ukraine and Russia Programme, Centre for Statecraft & National Security, King’s College London.