The European Commission and Ukraine have signed a new defence industrial partnership, launched an EU–Ukraine Drone Deal and disbursed a further €1 billion for Ukraine to procure drones.
The partnership creates an EU–Ukraine framework to coordinate and support existing bilateral drone agreements between Ukraine and EU member states, the Commission announced Wednesday night.
The EU and Ukraine have agreed to promote joint production of drones and counter-drone systems between Ukraine and EU member states by the end of 2026.
They will expand cooperation to the joint production of anti-ballistic missiles by 2028.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the partnership would remove barriers and align standards in areas including defence procurement and the protection of intellectual property.
Drone Deal and €1 billion disbursement
The EU–Ukraine Drone Deal will bring together Ukrainian and European companies through joint ventures focused on drones and counter-drone technologies, the Commission said.
A first meeting of the 18 founding members is scheduled to take place in Brussels in September.
The Commission said it had disbursed a further €1 billion to Ukraine for drone procurement, describing it as the second payment under the first €6 billion tranche of the €90 billion Ukraine Support Loan earmarked for drones.
The €1 billion payment follows a €3.2 billion instalment under a Macro-Financial Assistance programme on 25 June and a €3.9 billion payment dedicated to drone procurement on 30 June.
A €10 billion disbursement plan has also been approved to finance additional drones, missiles and fighter aircraft.
