The Minister of Defence of Ukraine, Mykhailo Fedorov, during his working visit to Brussels, held a series of meetings with key partners to plan Ukraine’s defence support for 2026. He also called for ensuring flexible and rapid use of the EUR 90 billion EU loan to finance priority areas — air defence and drones.

Ahead of the meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group in the Ramstein format, the Ukrainian delegation held a number of bilateral meetings with international partners.

During talks with EU Commissioner for Defence and Space Andrius Kubilius and EU High Representative Kaja Kallas, the parties focused on ways to maximise the effectiveness of the European Union loan mechanism.

Separate meetings were held with Vice Prime Minister and Minister of National Defence of Romania Radu-Dinel Miruță, Minister of National Defence of Lithuania Robertas Kaunas, Minister of Defence of Denmark Troels Poulsen, Minister of Defence of the Netherlands Ruben Brekelmans, Minister of Defence of Italy Guido Crosetto, Minister of Defence of Germany Boris Pistorius, and Minister of Defence of Sweden Pål Jonson.

The discussions covered new contributions to the PURL programme for the procurement of critically needed air defence systems, financing of Ukrainian drones and missiles, development of joint defence projects, and the expansion of cooperation in the defence-industrial sector.

According to Mykhailo Fedorov, one of the key objectives is to build win-win partnerships. Such cooperation must ensure the achievement of Ukraine’s strategic goals in the war: protecting the skies, stopping the enemy on land and at sea, weakening Russia’s economy, and countering aggression in the cognitive domain. Together with partners, Ukraine is building a system that will allow it to seize the initiative in each of these areas.

Ukraine is also developing a new defence model based on low-cost technological solutions, a rapid innovation cycle, and data-driven management. The Ukrainian side is ready to share these developments and is already providing partners with access to battlefield analytics. This includes joint work on a new defence doctrine and the creation of next-generation armed forces.

During his address to the Council of the European Union, the Minister of Defence thanked partners for the decision to allocate EUR 90 billion in financial assistance to Ukraine.

“For us, speed and flexibility in using these funds are essential to strengthen priority areas — drones and air defence,” Mykhailo Fedorov stressed.