4 Ukrainian defense companies sign partnership deals with European allies valued at nearly $950 million
Four Ukrainian defense companies have signed partnership agreements with companies from Denmark, Finland, and Latvia under the Build with Ukraine joint production initiatives on Feb. 24, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
"We are expanding joint production of drones to defend against Russian attacks today and to defend and deter in the future," Zelensky said in an X post on Feb. 25.
The total value of the agreement documents signed between Ukrainian defense manufacturers and their European partners is about 800 million euros (about $950 million), according to the Ukrainian Council of Defence Industry's press release.
The council, a platform supporting Ukraine's leading private defense manufacturers, said the agreements include cooperation in the production of aerial and ground drones, as well as preparations to scale up products on the European market.
"These Build With Ukraine joint production initiatives help lay the foundation for a truly self-reliant European defense industrial base that will strengthen our shared security in the future," Zelensky said.
The announcement comes as more Ukrainian defense manufacturers, especially those producing drones, bolster partnerships with Western allies to secure financial support in exchange for knowledge and battlefield expertise.
Ukraine's Ambassador to the U.K., Valerii Zaluzhnyi, also announced on Feb. 25 that the first Ukrainian defense plant by the country's leading drone manufacturer Ukrspecsystems has begun operations in the U.K.
Ukraine's Culver Aerospace has signed a drone cooperation agreement with Copenhagen Global, a Danish company. Separately, Ukraine's Remtechnology and Tencore signed similar agreements on unmanned ground systems (UGVs) with Finnish companies New Paakkola Oy and INSTA, respectively.
Meanwhile, Terminal Autonomy Ukraine signed an agreement on continued cooperation on drones with Latvia's SIA Baltic Forces.
"We encourage other partners to join these efforts by making contributions through the SAFE program to scale up joint production even more," Zelensky said.
"This will not only enhance our collective security now, but also enable future exports after the war."
