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The European Union and Ukraine have signed a deal to jointly boost the production of drones, a fast-evolving technology that has redefined modern warfare.
The deal was announced on Wednesday by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv.
The initiative is meant to combine the EU’s industrial base with Ukraine’s world-leading expertise, gained over more than four years of fighting against Russian troops.
Drones have been crucial in helping Kyiv overcome its manpower disadvantage and launch long-range strikes against Russian oil refineries, triggering a fuel crisis.
“We are making 10 million drones a year – 10 million. And it will be 20 million,” Zelenskyy said during a ceremony to mark Ukraine’s Statehood Day in the capital’s Saint Michael’s Square.
“For the first time, Ukraine has fundamentally changed the battlefield.”
Funding will come from two EU sources: the €90 billion support loan to Ukraine and the roughly €10 billion still available in the SAFE defence programme.
Until now, several EU countries have signed individual deals with Ukraine to tap into its technological ingenuity. The agreement endorsed on Wednesday adds a broader dimension by making the partnership available to all 27 member states.
“In Europe, we already have huge technological and industrial capacity that can be deployed. And we have safe and secure production sites that can help to scale up,” von der Leyen said in her speech.
“But we do not have that battle-tested knowledge and expertise that Ukraine has forged. So the point I am making is that we need to combine our strengths. Together, we can work on joint production.”
An important innovation is the option to build and store the drones across the bloc’s territory, rather than in Ukraine, as a way to provide them with a haven against Russian strikes.
But the storage will be short-term due to the rapid evolution that the technology is experiencing. After two two three months, the drones will be transferred to Ukraine or to member states interested in reinforcing their capabilities, particularly on the EU’s Eastern flank.
It remains to be seen how Moscow, whose actions against EU countries have become increasingly provocative, will respond to the plan.
As a second step, the Commission intends to expand the deal with Ukraine to the production of ballistic and anti-ballistic missile systems, but this is still far in the future.
“Now is the time to invest in Ukraine, to invest in Europe,” von der Leyen said, “and to invest in our common security and common future.”
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