The European Commission and the Ukrainian Government have signed 2 agreements: a new industrial partnership and the EU-Ukraine Drone Deal, aimed respectively at strengthening the integration of the 2 defense industries and expanding technology sharing in the drone and counter-drone sector. The Commission has also approved a €1 billion disbursement to Ukraine to support its unmanned systems capabilities under the €90 billion Ukraine Support Loan, and announced Ukraine's accession to the European Defence Fund (EDF) and the European Defence Industry Programme (EDIP).

The EU-Ukraine industrial partnership is designed to establish a single legislative framework that will facilitate the implementation of cooperation agreements already signed or under negotiation between individual Member States and Ukraine. The agreement between Brussels and Kyiv also promotes joint production of drones and counter-drone systems by Ukrainian and European companies, expanding industrial capacity and providing the long-term predictability needed to attract investment. Cooperation is meant to produce drones sheltered from Russian strikes carried out with short- and mid-range unmanned systems and missiles, allowing platforms to be stockpiled outside Ukrainian territory and delivered to Ukraine's Armed Forces (AF) only when required. Building on this approach, by 2028 the EU and Ukraine will extend industrial cooperation to ballistic missile interceptors, closing critical air defense gaps on both sides. The partnership aims to integrate the 2 industrial systems by removing barriers to cooperation and aligning standards, particularly in procurement and intellectual property.

The EU-Ukraine Drone Deal combines European industrial capacity with Ukraine's drone expertise through joint ventures between companies from both sides. The agreement is intended to accelerate the development and production of advanced drones and counter-drone systems, ensuring that in the short term Ukraine's AF receive the unmanned platforms they need to counter the Russian advance, and in the medium term that European AF build up their readiness for modern warfare. The Commission is already preparing the first meeting of participating industrial players, scheduled to take place in Brussels in September. Participants will total 19 companies. The European group includes ORQA d.o.o., Indra Group, Fincantieri, WB Electronics/WB Group, Destinus, Delair, RSI Europe, TERMA A/S and Quantum Systems. The Ukrainian group includes Skyfall Industries, Greentech Harvest, Tencore, Deviro, Vyriy Industry, Scientific Production Company "ATHLON AVIA", TEHAVTOFART PIVDEN (TAF Industries), UFORCE and F-Drones.

Alongside the 2 agreements, the Commission has authorized the €1 billion disbursement to Ukraine for the procurement of unmanned systems, which are critical to counter the Russian invasion. This is the second payment for drone procurement under the first €6 billion tranche of the Ukraine Support Loan. The previous disbursement, delivered on June 30, was worth €3.9 billion. The Commission also announced that the BraveTech EU program has moved to its next phase, with 6 companies selected: the French Soraccel, the Polish EdgeX Robotics, the Finnish Kova Labs, the Latvian Rannon, the Estonian Tempterno Defence and the German Smaesh. Their solutions will be tested under conditions similar to those found on the Ukrainian battlefield to assess effectiveness and operational readiness. BraveTech EU is a platform created by the European Commission in cooperation with Ukraine's Brave1, on which it is modeled, to shorten the time between the design of a weapon system and its actual entry into service and to foster technological innovation.

Finally, the European Commission announced Ukraine's full accession to the European Defence Fund, endowed with a €7.3 billion budget for 2021-27, and to the European Defence Industry Programme, worth €1.5 billion for 2026-27. Ukrainian and European companies can now form consortia and jointly submit research and development projects funded under EDF and EDIP.

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