As Ukraine’s army needs increase amid Russia’s ongoing invasion, the EU adopted a new approach by starting to invest in Ukraine's military industry, according to a report by The Washington Post.
With the EU facing challenges in supplying all the necessary weapons and ammunition, supporting Ukraine’s manufacturing sector has emerged as a promising solution.
Ian Lesser, Head of the Brussels office of the German Marshall Fund of the US, supports the strategy of investing in Ukraine’s arms sector, stating that it “provides more flexibility” and “gets more capacity to Ukraine in short order.” Additionally, this approach helps ease the strain on defense production.
But “it’s important to note that none of this is going to replace the large-scale provision of Western manufactured arms to Ukraine,” Lesser stressed.
At the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, Ukraine’s defense industry was not equipped to handle significant financing. However, the country has since made remarkable strides, tripling its arms production in 2023 and doubling that output in just the first eight months of this year, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal announced last week at the International Defense Industries Forum, which focused on Ukraine’s defense sector.
A European official indicated that the flow of funding to Ukraine's defense industry could see a significant surge in the near future.
“There are a number of nations that are, as far as I know, close to announcing the future use of the same mechanism, either the investing themselves or asking Denmark to invest their money,” he said.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that in the first half of this year, Ukraine produced 25 times more artillery and mortar ammunition than it did in the entire year of 2022.
The EU has already allocated around $440 million from the income generated by frozen Russian assets to support the Ukrainian defense industry.
The Washington Post reported that the EU's assistance is part of a larger $1.5 billion package, funded by proceeds from frozen Russian assets. Approved in May and administered through the European Peace Facility, this package provides funds to EU member states for purchasing weapons for Ukraine.
On September 14, Denmark announced that it funded the production of 18 Bohdanas, which have already been delivered to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. This marked the first time an EU country used funds specifically for purchasing military equipment from Ukrainian manufacturers.
