The European Union and Ukraine have launched a partnership for the development and joint production of drones and anti-drone systems. The agreement, signed by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the leader from Kiev, Volodimir Zelenski, aims to combine the production capacity and capital of the community block with the experience gained by Ukraine on the front, reports IPN.

For the new partnership, announced on Wednesday in Kiev by Ursula von der Leyen on the sidelines of the Ukraine-Southeast Europe Summit, the Commission allocates one billion euros from the 90 billion euro loan already approved for Ukraine. The head of the European Commission described the initiative as “our own drone agreement”, following the agreements concluded by Kiev in recent months with several European and Middle Eastern countries.

Ursula Von der Leyen invoked the incursions and drone alerts recorded in several member states to justify the development of a European capacity of their own. She mentioned that the events in Ukraine and other regions have demonstrated the need for systems tested in real conditions, quickly available and in sufficient quantities.