The European Union is changing its approach to supporting Ukraine in its war with Russia, focusing on investments in the country’s military-industrial complex. This shift has become necessary due to the EU’s limited ability to provide Ukraine with sufficient weapons and ammunition. This was reported by The Washington Post.
One of the key moments of this change was the EU’s recent decision to allocate $440 million for the development of Ukraine’s defence industry, which highlights the shortcomings of the European defence sector in producing the necessary weapons. According to WP, this step marks a new approach to supporting Ukraine, which, according to a European diplomat, can produce weapons more efficiently on its own, given the resources and funding.
Jan Lesser, an expert from the German Marshall Fund, believes that investments in the Ukrainian arms sector will allow for greater flexibility and faster delivery of the necessary weapons, while reducing the burden on Western countries. However, he emphasises that this will not replace large-scale supplies of Western weapons, which remain vital for Ukraine’s defence.
According to the newspaper, the EU plans to use the proceeds of Russia’s frozen assets, as well as funds provided by Denmark, to finance Ukraine’s defence sector. European officials expect that the amount of funding will increase significantly in the near future, as several countries are already close to making decisions on investing in Ukraine’s defence industry.
This funding is aimed at the production of missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and other long-range weapons that are crucial for Ukraine’s successful defence. In addition, the recently agreed mechanism under which Denmark will manage $630 million in proceeds from frozen Russian assets allows Ukraine to set its own priorities in procuring the weapons it needs.
According to Dennis Virkelist, who heads the Danish Ministry of Defence’s Ukraine Assistance Unit, the country will not impose any restrictions on the use of these weapons, and the EU and Denmark will demonstrate to the world how to effectively use Russian assets to support Ukraine. According to WP, the total aid package, which amounts to $1.5 billion, is administered through the European Peace Fund and was approved in May this year.
