Ukraine to receive billions of euros for drone development
Photo. Christophe Licoppe/NATO
The „drone wall” and the urgent strengthening of security on NATO’s eastern flank are the latest priorities in cooperation between the North Atlantic Alliance and the European Union. They were announced at a joint press conference by Mark Rutte and Ursula von der Leyen.
At the joint press conference, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and North Atlantic Alliance Secretary General Mark Rutte spoke about cooperation aimed at significantly increasing the security of the airspace over NATO’s eastern flank.
According to Ursula von der Leyen, economic pressure on Russia should increase significantly, and interoperability between member states in the field of defence should improve. Achieving the latter is to be possible, among other things, through an increase in joint purchases of military equipment. The EU’s and NATO’s priority will also be the „drone wall.” One of the main pillars of that wall is to be Ukraine, which will receive substantial financial support.
.@SecGenNATO attended a meeting of the EU’s College of Commissioners hosted by @vonderleyen
— NATO Spokesperson (@NATOpress) September 30, 2025
He praised the growing cooperation between #NATO & the #EU 🇪🇺, encouraging each organisation to leverage its respective strengths to enhance security in Europe
ℹ️ https://t.co/CYl4CJiEzx pic.twitter.com/JcevUk2RCD
Von Der Leyen said NATO has come to an agreement with Ukraine that a total of €2 billion will be allocated to unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). This will allow Ukraine to increase its capabilities and fully exploit its potential. She referred to Kyiv „the first line of defence.”
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte also addressed the defence of airspace in Alliance countries, referring to recent incidents of Russian drones and aircraft violating Polish and Estonian airspace.
Rutte said NATO must defend the skies, hence the idea of a drone wall, as the Alliance cannot be spending millions on missiles to shoot down drones that are worth only a few tens of thousands.
The joint press conference by Ursula von der Leyen and Mark Rutte took place on the eve of an informal meeting of the European Council, which will be held in Copenhagen.
