Ukraine Signs Nearly 20 Joint Defense Production Agreements With EU Countries

Ukraine has signed nearly 20 agreements on joint defense production with its European partners, as Kyiv aims to reach international cooperation in its military-industrial development.

Th news came in an interview with Ukrinform by Executive Director of the Ukrainian Armor Council, Ihor Fedirko, while Ukraine is preparing to present its defense developments on June 15-19 at the international exhibition Eurosattory in Paris.

“We have signed almost 20 joint production agreements with five European countries, now our task is to put these agreements into practice,” Fedirko said, referring to projects that include joint ventures such as those with Frontline Robotics and Quantum Systems.

“The capacity this year is $55 billion,” Fedirko said, referring to current capabilities of Ukraine’s defense industry.

“We can produce only long-range and medium-range weapons, in particular drones and missiles,” he explained.

Through joint ventures and localization of component production, the main task of the Ukrainian defense industry is integration into the European defense industry, alongside reducing reliance on foreign components, specifically Chinese ones.

“We are actively localizing the production of components,” Fedirko said, acknowledging that dependence on Chinese components remains fairly high. “We must constantly reduce it,” he added.

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According to Fedirko, Ukraine has already begun implementing projects with German companies, with 12 joint production agreements already being signed.

Production affecting front lines

“We, as a private market, want and fight to buy Ukrainian-made weapons as much as possible. This percentage grows every year,” Fedirko said, adding that the budget of the Ministry of Defense is currently “about 80% performed inside Ukraine,” compared to last year’s 50%.

The remaining 20% of the budget goes to weapons bought from abroad, as Ukraine cannot fully cover its need for shells and other types of weapons.

“The aircraft must be serviced, and these are parts, repairs, modernization and infrastructure,” he explained. All of that “needs a lot of money.”

According to him, Ukraine is currently waiting for a large sum of money  thanks to frozen Russian assets, with the funds already being planned and distributed.

“Even if two-thirds are spent on the purchase of defense products, as promised, it will be a huge impetus for our industry,” Fedirko said.

Privatization of Ukraine’s defense industry to reduce dependence on China

“I am a supporter of a greater role being played by the private sector in the development of the defense industry,” Fedirko said in the interview, explaining that he believes privatization is one of the most important ways to develop Ukrainian industry.

“More than a thousand private companies are already operating in the market. The number itself has increased significantly,” he added.

Ukraine’s defense and technology systems are now expanding rapidly, with more than 1,000 private defense companies now operating and over 2,000 startups being registered in the Brave1 innovation cluster.

Ukraine’s Defense Ministry on June 8 authorized 30 companies to form private air defense groups, marking a major expansion of an already established experimental project that brings businesses directly into the country’s air defense efforts against Russian drone attacks. Launched in late 2025, the project aims to add an extra layer of protection to Ukraine’s air defense around high-risk targets.

“And Germany is now an example for everyone else,” Fedirko said. “The largest and best cases today are being created with Germany.”