Umerov calls on EU to invest EUR 18 bln in Ukraine arms production in 2025
The European Union should strengthen its role in establishing peace on the continent, in particular by increasing investment in the production of military equipment in Ukraine, Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said at the annual conference of the European Defense Agency.
"The EU should strengthen its role in establishing a just peace on the continent. I stated this during a panel at the annual conference of the European Defense Agency dedicated to supporting Ukraine," he said on the Telegram channel Wednesday.
The minister emphasized that "the EU's main security priority in 2025 is increasing investment in the production of military equipment, in particular air defense and missile defense systems; armored vehicles and modern artillery systems."
According to him, Ukraine has already achieved significant success in developing its own defense industry, "but we are capable of doing even more. In 2025, our production potential could amount to EUR 34 billion. However, this requires support."
According to Umerov, the support implies "financing in the amount of EUR 18 billion (Ukraine is capable of providing EUR 16 billion on its own); transfer of military technologies and partnership with European companies."
"I am grateful to the EU for the decision to allocate EUR 1 billion of income from frozen Russian assets to support Ukrainian production. These funds will be used for priority needs: ammunition, artillery and drones," the minister said.
"Support for Ukrainian defense production is a strategic contribution to the security of Europe. Joint efforts, strong decisions and coordination will help make 2025 the year of just peace for Ukraine and all of Europe," Umerov summed up.