European countries are considering the possibility of reorienting support to Ukraine from direct arms supplies to financing its defense-industrial complex. About this informs The Washington Post.
More and more EU states are leaning towards the model of supporting the Ukrainian defense industry, since years of military aid to Kyiv have significantly depleted their own weapons stockpiles. With US supplies running out under Joe Biden’s presidency, there is growing concern about Europe’s ability to compensate for a potential loss of US support — especially in critical areas such as air defense.
This approach is mutually beneficial: for Europe, it is less expensive, and for Ukraine, it is a chance to strengthen its own production. In addition, Ukraine can become a platform for testing the newest types of weapons, in particular drones, in the production of which NATO currently has less practical experience.
As an example, the production of self-propelled guns “Bohdan” – the first Ukrainian self-propelled artillery installations of NATO caliber. Since the start of full-scale war, their production has tripled, from six units per month in 2023 to over twenty in 2025.
We will remind that on April 9, the European Union announced the allocation of an additional tranche for Ukraine in the amount of one billion euros for the production of artillery systems. Funding will come from profits from frozen Russian assets. This is Europe’s largest investment in the Ukrainian defense industry and part of a large-scale support plan, which provides for the allocation of more than 20 billion euros during the year for the production of weapons directly on Ukrainian territory.
