EU defence industry struggles to meet Ukraine frontline requirements

Doubts are growing within the European Union leadership over whether Ukraine’s urgent military requirements on the frontline can be met.

Speaking to the Euractiv news website, a European Commission official working in close contact with the Ukrainian defence sector warned that Brussels’ cumbersome defence mechanisms are failing to keep pace with rapid shifts on the ground.

The government in Kyiv aims to establish joint weapons production with European countries.

However, bringing defence projects to fruition within the EU often takes between five and 10 years. Due to these lengthy timescales, weapon systems run the risk of becoming technologically obsolete against frontline realities by the time they reach Ukraine.

It is also reported that projects funded under the European Defence Fund (EDF), the European Commission’s primary financing instrument for collaborative defence research and technology development, could conclude without answering tangible frontline needs.

Drawing attention to the system’s lack of flexibility, the Commission official stressed that weapons manufacturers are accustomed to selling the same product for years, whereas battlefield conditions now transform far more rapidly. The official also stated that Ukrainian companies have outpaced their European counterparts in specific sectors.

Riho Terras, vice-chair of the European Parliament Subcommittee on Security and Defence, recalled that Ukrainian military equipment entering the European market must comply with EU standards and regulations.

Arguing that the European defence sector lacks the ability to transform rapidly, Terras said the existing industrial infrastructure produces systems that are overly complex and excessively expensive for the modern battlefield.

Stating that the current production model is unsustainable in the long run, Terras noted that the issue also carries a political dimension, offering the following assessment: “European citizens do not yet feel that this war is their war.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had stated that they require an additional 27 billion euros to cover defence expenditures, requesting that a portion of the two-year, 90-billion-euro loan package planned by the EU for 2027 be brought forward to this year.

Irish Minister for Defence Helen McEntee, speaking after an informal meeting of EU defence ministers, said Brussels is broadly receptive to Kyiv’s appeal to front-load the funds.

Stating that next year’s financing has been approved, McEntee said the general trend at the meeting pointed towards a consensus in favour of releasing the resources ahead of the planned schedule.

The 90-billion-euro loan package, agreed last December, is intended to cover two thirds of Ukraine’s total financing needs for 2026 and 2027.

Under the current plan, half of this amount is slated for transfer this year, with the remaining 45 billion euros scheduled for next year.

However, according to data cited by Euractiv, only 11.7 billion euros, intended primarily for military spending, has been delivered to Ukraine to date.