Ukraine and the EU concluded a “drone agreement” today to combine Kyiv’s expertise and European industrial capacities in order to establish joint projects and increase production, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced.
In a speech at a ceremony in Kyiv marking Ukraine’s Statehood Day, von der Leyen said that the Union and Ukraine must join forces, Reuters reported.
“This agreement will bring together Ukrainian ingenuity and European industry,” said the Commission President.
Ukraine has signed a series of such agreements with individual countries. Reuters recalls that at last week’s NATO summit in Ankara, President Volodymyr Zelensky signed three agreements, bringing the total to nine.
However, today’s agreement is the first aimed at encompassing countries and companies across the EU.
Addressing Zelensky, von der Leyen said that the knowledge Ukraine has gained about how to use drone and anti-drone systems is “truly unique.”
“We must harness this together. Because we know the threats Europe faces… we have seen incursions and warnings in many member states (of the EU),” von der Leyen added.
She also said that the EU could offer Ukraine advantages such as “enormous technological and industrial capacity” and “secure production sites.”
Ukraine has developed a highly sophisticated drone industry after having only limited experience in the sector when Russia attacked the country in February 2022.
Reuters notes that Zelensky has traveled extensively to promote drone agreements, especially in the Middle East, where Gulf countries have sought to leverage Ukrainian expertise to counter Iranian attacks.
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