Ukraine calls on the EU to direct financial support towards scaling up UAV production

Financial support from the European Union should be applied flexibly and directed towards the development of UAV production in Ukraine, as well as towards advanced air defence capabilities.

This was emphasised by Deputy Minister of Defence of Ukraine for European Integration, Sergiy Boyev, during a meeting with a delegation of the European Parliament led by Chair of the Committee on Security and Defence (SEDE), Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann.

“Today, more than 85% of battlefield strikes are carried out by Ukrainian unmanned systems. Directing financial support towards scaling up the production of Ukrainian drones is a prerequisite for achieving results on the battlefield,” Sergiy Boyev stressed.

He underscored the need for flexible use of resources within the European Union’s €90 billion financial support package for Ukraine.

Ukraine has the capacity to increase drone production severalfold, provided adequate funding is in place. Sergiy Boyev noted that producing UAVs in Ukraine is roughly three times cheaper than in EU member states. At the same time, Ukraine is developing mechanisms to enable its combat experience and innovations to strengthen European partners.

Another important part of the talks focused on the need to further limit the aggressor state’s resources. Sanctions and political pressure directly reduce russia’s ability to finance the war, scale up weapons production, and mobilise human resources.

“It is critically important to intensify pressure on the “shadow fleet” and other sources of revenue for russia’s economy,” Sergiy Boyev stated.