Strengthening support for Ukraine: Denys Shmyhal holds talks with E5 defence ministers

Minister of Defence of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal took part in a videoconference with the defence ministers of the European Group of Five (E5) countries — Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, Poland, and France — as well as the EU High Representative, Kaja Kallas.

“Bolstering our air defence continues to be one of Ukraine’s foremost priorities. I informed the partners about today’s massive russian attack targeting civilian and critical infrastructure. We are counting on the delivery of additional air defence systems and interceptor missiles to save the lives of Ukrainians,” the Minister of Defence underlined. 

He further stressed the importance of supplying additional long-range strike capabilities. According to the Minister of Defence, combined with sanctions, strikes against enemy energy and military infrastructure could bring the aggressor to the negotiating table.

“Today we received an important signal from our allies — defence support for Ukraine will continue to grow. Germany, in particular, is increasing its military assistance to Ukraine to €12 billion in 2026. In 2027, the country plans to allocate €9 billion to support Ukraine’s defence,” Denys Shmyhal noted.

In turn, German Minister of Defence Boris Pistorius announced Germany’s readiness to increase supplies of air defence systems, ammunition, and drones. Germany is also preparing a new contribution to the PURL mechanism. Denys Shmyhal thanked Germany for this vital support.

The participants also discussed ways to finance the Defence Forces of Ukraine's needs. 

“Part of the recent €6 billion tranche will enable us to allocate additional resources to strengthen our defence. Together with the European Commission, we are working on launching a reparations credit for Ukraine,” Denys Shmyhal stated.

He added that the next meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group (UDCG) is scheduled for 3 December.