Ukraine and the European Union have sealed a “drone deal”, aiming to combine Kyiv’s expertise with EU industrial capacity to establish joint projects and scale up production, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday.
“We need to combine our strengths,” von der Leyen said in a speech in Kyiv at a ceremony to mark Ukraine’s Statehood Day. “This deal will bring together Ukrainian ingenuity and Europe’s industrial scale.”
Von der Leyen said the EU could offer advantages to Ukraine such as “huge technological and industrial capacity” and “safe and secure production sites”.
Ukraine has signed a series of such drone deals with individual countries. At last week’s NATO summit in Ankara, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy signed three more, saying that brought the total to nine.
But Wednesday’s deal is the first intended to cover countries and companies across the EU. It is part of a new EU-Ukraine defence industrial partnership which the Commission, the EU’s executive body, said would expand to include anti-ballistic missiles by 2028.
“We will do everything necessary to build Europe’s anti-ballistic system by integrating all European anti-ballistic capabilities,” Zelenskiy said in his speech to the ceremony.
The partnership reflects a growing desire among European politicians and companies to tap into Ukrainian expertise gained from the war that began after Russia’s invasion as they seek to boost their own defences against Moscow.
NEW INITIATIVE INTENDED TO BREAK DOWN BUREAUCRATIC BARRIERS
In a statement, the Commission said it would work with 19 founding partners of the drone deal, including EU-based companies such as Indra Group, Fincantieri and Quantum Systems and Ukrainian firms such as LLC Skyfall Industries.
Von der Leyen said the new initiative would break down bureaucratic barriers and agree common standards that would make it easier for Ukrainian and EU-based companies to undertake joint ventures.
Ukraine has developed a highly sophisticated drone industry after having only limited expertise in the sector when Russia invaded its smaller neighbour in February 2022.
Zelenskiy has travelled widely to promote drone deals, particularly in the Middle East, where Gulf countries have been keen to learn from Ukraine as they seek to counter Iranian strikes.
“The knowledge you have gained on how to work drone and anti-drone systems is truly unique,” von der Leyen said, addressing Zelenskiy.
“We must tap into this together. Because we know the threats that Europe faces in this area – we have seen incursions and alerts across many (EU) member states.”
(Additional reporting by Anna Pruchnicka)
