Yesterday at 20:05
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced an advance allocation of €6 billion in credit, financed from profits from frozen Russian assets, for the production of drones for Ukraine.
She made the announcement during her annual State of the European Union speech in the European Parliament.
Von der Leyen noted that the use of drones by Ukraine accounts for over two-thirds of Russian equipment losses.
“This is not just an advantage on the battlefield. It is a reminder of the power of human ingenuity in our open societies,” she said.
However, she added that Russia is rapidly catching up, supported by Iranian-developed Shahed-type drones, and is leveraging the advantages of industrial mass production.
“Thus, ingenuity has helped open the doors for Ukraine’s defense, but raw industrial power, on the other hand, could threaten to close them,” the Commission President noted.
She emphasized that the EU can use its industrial capacity to support Ukraine in countering this drone-driven war.
“We can help turn Ukrainian ingenuity into battlefield advantage — and into joint industrialization. That is why I can also announce that Europe will advance €6 billion from the ERA credit and establish a Drone Alliance with Ukraine,” von der Leyen stated.
“Ukraine has ingenuity. Now it needs scale. Together, we can provide it so that Ukraine maintains its advantage, and Europe strengthens its own,” she added.
Ursula von der Leyen also stressed the urgent need to develop a new solution for military financing of Ukraine using frozen Russian assets.
In 2024, the G7 agreed to jointly provide Ukraine with a $50 billion loan using Russian assets: the funds will be formally issued as a loan but repaid from the income generated by frozen Russian assets. The European Union is expected to transfer €18.1 billion under this mechanism.
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