Exhibiting Defence Products Abroad: Navigating Ukraine’s Export Control Rules
Ukraine’s defence industry is making itself increasingly visible on global markets. Since the start of the full-scale war, the sector has transformed: alongside long-established players, a new wave of mostly private manufacturers has emerged, rapidly scaling up production, refining products based on combat experience and seeking partners abroad. Yet in the defence industry, a strong product is only part of the story. It has to be shown, explained and demonstrated in action, and potential buyers have to be convinced that this particular solution deserves their attention.
That is why defence exhibitions, live demonstrations and specialised events for foreign armed forces have become far more than a marketing tool for Ukrainian manufacturers. They are a gateway to the global market. But that gateway can close as early as the logistics stage if export control requirements are overlooked. Some companies fail to obtain the necessary authorisation in time and miss a key event. Others take a chance and are stopped at customs, and not always Ukrainian customs. The consequences can be serious: detained cargo, fines, and administrative or, in some cases, even criminal liability.
The question sounds simple, but the legal answer is not: how can a company, in line with Ukraine’s Law "On State Control over International Transfers of Military and Dual-Use Goods”, properly take its products abroad for demonstration, and then just as properly bring them back or close out the project without breaching the rules? Here is what to keep in mind.
The first step is always the same: understand exactly what is being exported. In export control, this is not a formality but the starting point of the entire process. The Law treats the identification of goods as one of the key methods of state control and places responsibility for preliminary identification on the company planning the transfer. In other words, before planning a stand, a presentation or a demonstration, a manufacturer needs to answer a basic question: is the product controlled, and which entry on the control lists could it fall under?
Two procedures help answer this question: classification and identification. Classification establishes the general category a product belongs to: military, dual-use or purely civilian. Identification goes further, matching the product’s specific technical characteristics against particular entries in Ukraine’s List of Military Goods or the Unified List of Dual-Use Goods. When a company carries out identification itself, the Law calls it preliminary identification. This task can also be delegated to organisations authorised by the State Service of Export Control of Ukraine (SSEC). However, none of these organisations can cover every entry on the dual-use list, and none may identify military goods, which is a detail worth bearing in mind. Based on the preliminary identification, the SSEC then carries out its own official identification, and the results are recorded in formal documents.
In practice, this is the stage that raises the most questions: how should new products, prototypes, exhibition models or mock-ups be identified? The general rule is that a product is assessed by its primary purpose and technical characteristics as set out in its technical documentation. Its actual condition, whether new or previously used, does not in itself change the identification approach. Accordingly, the temporary export procedure for such goods will largely be the same.
An exhibition sample does not become a "safe copy” simply because certain parts have been removed, some components replaced with dummies, or control or power circuits disconnected. If the sample still contains controlled components of a military product, it remains subject to state export control and will require an SSEC export authorisation (formally known in Ukraine as a "conclusion”). In other words, in most cases, losing full functionality does not mean losing controlled status.
Mock-ups are a different matter. Under certain conditions, exporting a mock-up may not require authorisation. But the line between a mock-up and a controlled sample is much finer than it seems, and an identification error can cost far more than a timely check.
If the product turns out to be controlled, the next step is to prepare an application and a set of documents for the SSEC’s preliminary review. For manufacturers that regularly modify their products, solutions exist to avoid restarting the procedure after every change. The key is choosing the right approach from the outset.
In parallel, it is worth vetting both the counterparties and the transfer itself: sanctions exposure, the end user and the end use. For temporary exports, an unbroken documentary chain leading back to the specific Ukrainian manufacturer is essential, and this is exactly where gaps most often appear.
The company then submits its application for authorisation, with the procedure depending on the category of goods. How thoroughly this stage is prepared directly affects timing: the review period only begins once the SSEC has received all the required documents and information. Every gap pushes the exhibition further away.
The interest in Ukrainian defence products is easy to understand: many of them have already passed the toughest test of all, combat use. But this also creates additional risks. Cutting-edge solutions used by Ukraine’s defence forces are of interest not only to partners but also to the enemy, which is looking for vulnerabilities and ways to counter them. As a result, reviewing a temporary export request may involve counterintelligence and other authorities, which naturally affects decision timelines. If the exhibition or demonstration takes place in a country that does not border Ukraine, transit permits from third countries also need to be arranged in advance. These often require an SSEC export authorisation to be in place already. Time in this process is not a technical detail but a strategic resource.
Once the authorisation is finally granted, the worst thing a company can do is pack the cargo and set off without a final check. Every detail in the document needs careful verification: product names, quantities, countries, timeframes, parties to the transfer and conditions of use. The authorisation may also set out specific conditions regarding the export procedure and additional control measures, which are easy to overlook. An error discovered at the border can rarely be fixed quickly or on the spot.
This overview does not answer every question related to temporary exports. For example, what if you are invited to another event after the demonstration? What if it takes place in a different country, or there are several such events? Given today’s complex logistics, do the goods have to return to Ukraine, or can they be shown at other events while they are already abroad? And what if an association, union or other collective participant is invited, but each manufacturer exports its goods separately? These and many other issues cannot be covered in a short overview, especially since export control decisions are always made on a case-by-case basis.
Sayenko Kharenko team supports manufacturers at every stage, from product identification to bringing the goods back to Ukraine. Get in touch, and we will help you plan the process so that your products reach the exhibition stand on time rather than getting stuck at the border.