The EU gives Ukraine two billion for drones – von der Leyen also outlines reparations

Ursula von der Leyen announced that the EU will provide €2 billion for the delivery of drones to Ukraine to strengthen its military capacity. This move also paves the way for broader use of drone technologies within the EU.

As the Politico portal writes, the President of the European Commission presented a plan for a “reparation loan” that would be linked to frozen Russian assets and would serve to provide long-term support to Kyiv – including the purchase of military equipment from the European defense industry.

However, repayment of the loan would depend on future reparations from Russia.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte also supported the idea of a so-called “drone wall” on the EU's eastern flank and warned against the inefficiency of fighting cheap drones with expensive missiles.

The announcements come shortly before the EU summit in Copenhagen, where heads of state and government will discuss defense strategies until 2030.

(lup)