During the session of the Council of the EU, Denys Shmyhal called for renewed contributions to the PURL initiative

In Brussels, Ukraine’s Minister of Defence, Denys Shmyhal, participated in the meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council in the defence ministers’ format and expressed gratitude to EU member states for the decisions that reinforce Ukraine’s defence.

The meeting focused primarily on joint efforts to strengthen the resilience of Ukraine and of Europe as a whole.

According to Ukraine’s Minister of Defence, Denys Shmyhal, the launch of the European Defence Industry Programme (EDIP) opens new opportunities for integrating Ukrainian manufacturers into the European defence ecosystem.

“The launch of the €300 million Ukraine Support Instrument is a further important milestone in deepening our cooperation. We also anticipate the practical rollout of the SAFE instrument,” he emphasised.

In his address, Denys Shmyhal outlined the capabilities of Ukraine’s defence industry and invited partners to participate in new joint projects under the Build with Ukraine initiative.

The Minister noted that a significant source of financing for Ukraine’s defence should be a mechanism grounded in the use of frozen russian assets.

He also briefed allies on the most pressing needs of Ukrainian service members, first and foremost in the domain of air defence. Ukraine’s Minister of Defence underlined that meeting the needs of the Defence Forces requires renewed contributions to the PURL initiative, which enables Ukraine to obtain essential U.S.-manufactured weaponry.