Ukraine, EU Sign Bloc-Wide Drone Deal to Boost Defence Production

Ukraine and the European Union have signed a bloc-wide agreement to jointly develop and manufacture drones, combining Kyiv's battlefield expertise with Europe's industrial capacity to strengthen defence capabilities as Russia intensifies its attacks on Ukraine.

Announcing the agreement in Kyiv on Wednesday during Ukraine's Statehood Day celebrations, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the partnership would help expand drone production across Europe.

"We need to combine our strengths," von derLeyen said. "This deal will bring together Ukrainian ingenuity and Europe's industrial scale."

Ukraine has previously signed similar defence cooperation agreements with individual countries. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed three more such deals at last week's NATO summit in Ankara, taking the total to nine. Wednesday's agreement, however, is the first to bring together countries and companies from across the European Union under a single framework.

Highlighting Ukraine's advances in drone warfare since Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, von der Leyen said Europe stood to benefit from Kyiv's battlefield experience.

"The knowledge you have gained on how to work drone and anti-drone systems is truly unique," she said."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."

Von der Leyen said the EU, in turn, could provide Ukraine with "huge technological and industrial capacity" and "safe and secure production sites" to accelerate manufacturing.

The agreement comes just two days after Ukraine and several key Western allies announced the creation of an Integrated Anti-Ballistic Missile Coalition, aimed at jointly developing a new European missile defence system as a lower-cost alternative to the US Patriot system.

The initiative was unveiled at a summit in Paris, where the leaders of Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Ukraine and the United Kingdom, along with representatives from about a dozen defence companies, pledged to strengthen Europe's air defence capabilities.

"We believe that the protection of Europe requires a global solution of integrated missile defence architecture to deter and defeat future missile threats," the leaders said in a joint statement.

"It will complement existing ballistic missile defence systems, including sovereign European solutions already acquired, or to be acquired by participating countries."

The announcement comes as Ukraine faces a critical shortage of air defence munitions and has struggled to intercept Russian ballistic missiles, which travel at several times the speed of sound. Kyiv has repeatedly appealed to its allies for additional military assistance while urging Europe to jointly develop an indigenous anti-ballistic missile defence system.

As Russia has stepped up missile and drone strikes on Kyiv and surrounding regions, Ukraine has intensified long-range drone attacks on Russian oil facilities and weapons production sites in an effort to shift the battlefield momentum.

Zelenskyy joined around 25 leaders at the broader Coalition of the Willing summit in Paris, where discussions focused on coordinating long-term military support, security guarantees for Ukraine and a common negotiating position for any future peace settlement.

The meetings followed last week's NATO summit, which sought to demonstrate continued transatlantic unity and long-term support for Ukraine as the war enters its fifth year.