The European Commission recently unveiled a plan for rearming the European Union and strengthening the bloc’s defense capabilities. By 2030, the Commission intends to arm Ukraine and develop member states’ militaries to the extent needed to deter or counter Russian aggression. To fund this effort, the Commission plans to
Editor's note: This article has been updated to include the official response to the Kyiv Independent from Ukraine's General Staff, which came a few days after initial publication. Last February, a Ukrainian company commander going by his callsign Veter was ordered to send his people to reinforce another unit’s
Ukraine’s drone wizardry has drawn the attention of militaries around the world. In addition to an ever-growing drone industry, the rise of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) has necessitated new education. Since 2022, a crop of drone schools has popped up around Ukraine to train drone pilots to fight back
"This allowed us not only to save our soldiers, but also to improve our defense. (Russia) is suffering losses, and we can act more effectively," Lieutenant General Serhii Naiev said.
When Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, he knew that he was upending Europe’s security order. But this was more of a tactical gambit than a calculated strategy, and he could not have predicted what would follow. Though U.S. President Donald
Lithuania ranks among Europe's top defense spenders, allocating 2.85% of its GDP to defense in 2024, according to NATO estimates.
Geopolitical events over the past three years have forced a rethinking of the global security framework. Ukraine’s battlefield has evolved into an innovation lab for modern defense technologies — transforming not only how wars are fought but also how peace is secured. Drawing insights from the recent Brave1 Defense Tech
Russia’s war against Ukraine is not only about Ukraine’s freedom and survival, but also about the future of Europe’s hard security. Russia wants to replace the cooperative, democratic security order in Europe, the principles of which were outlined 50 years ago in the Helsinki Final Act, with
"The best security guarantee are the Ukrainians themselves," European Council President Antonio Costa said at the end of a special EU summit in Brussels.
Shares in Eutelsat surged as much as 123% to 4.50 euro before settling at a 70% gain, driven by investor confidence that European leaders will increase military support for Ukraine.
"This is a moment for Europe and we are ready to step up," Ursula von der Leyen said.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has announced that alliance members are ramping up their defense investments and preparing additional financial support for Ukraine.
It is the largest sustained increase in British defense spending since the end of the Cold War.
A looming dropoff in U.S. weapons deliveries is threatening to strain Ukraine’s budding domestic arms production to the breaking point. As U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration prepares negotiations with their Russian counterparts, Ukrainians fear being cut out of negotiations — and cut off from future U.S.
"Everything I'm seeing at this moment is not nearly enough, and if we don't do it (raise the spending targets) we are safe now but not in four or five years. So if you don't do it, get out your Russian language courses or go to New Zealand," NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said.
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said on Jan. 7 that NATO should raise its defense spending benchmark from 2% of GDP to 5%, echoing his earlier calls for Europe to spend more on its security.
"In a month and a half, we created a project from scratch and made a shield from Metinvest's Ukrainian armor steel for the Patriot air defense system crew, which guarantees protection against debris damage to both the defenders and the air defense control center," said Oleksandr Myronenko, a COO of Metinvest Group.
Norway will continue training Ukrainian F-16 pilots as part of its support for Ukraine’s defense and will relocate its training base from Denmark to Portugal, Norwegian Defense Minister Bjørn Arild Gram announced in a Dec. 13 press release.
European NATO foreign ministers began discussing a plan to gradually increase the alliance’s defense spending target from 2% of their GDP to 3% by 2030, the Financial Times reported on Dec. 12, citing undisclosed sources.
For the next year, Ukraine allocated 26.3% of its gross domestic product (GDP) to defense and security expenditures, including Hr 740 billion ($17.7 billion) for arms purchases and Hr 50 billion ($1.2 billion) on the production and purchase of drones.
With Donald Trump back in office, Europe faces a new era of uncertainty. The once-reliable comfort of American support — a cornerstone of European security — is now more in question than ever. For decades, Europe has assumed the U.S. would always be there to pick up the slack. But those
Before the U.S. presidential election, it seemed like no one but Donald Trump’s staunchest supporters believed he could win. After all, the man is a convicted felon, a putschist-provocateur, an agent of chaos, and a walking scandal who has been disowned by almost all his former advisors, some
President-elect Donald Trump has named Fox News host and veteran Pete Hegseth as the incoming U.S. Defense Secretary, Trump said in a post on Truth Social on Nov. 12. If confirmed by Congress, Hegseth will replace current Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin following Trump's inauguration on Jan. 20, 2025. "Pete
“The priority of next year's budget will also be security and defense. All taxes paid by people and businesses will go toward strengthening our defenders and military capabilities,” Prime Minister Denys Smyhal said on his Telegram channel.
Ukraine's Strategic Industries Minister Herman Smetanin met with India's Ambassador to Ukraine Ravi Shankar on Oct. 26 to discuss strengthening defense industry cooperation between Kyiv and New Delhi, the Strategic Industries Ministry announced.
The Kyiv Independent spoke with former U.K. Defense Attaché in Moscow, John Foreman CBE, about what this development might mean for the future of Russia's war and the global landscape.
"It (Black Sea Fleet) was forced to change, in fact, its registration because our large ships became large targets for the enemy's unmanned boats," Dmitry Rogozin, a Russian official heading the Russian occupation of Zaporizhzhia Oblast, said.
Biden was supposed to convene a leader-level meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group in Germany on Oct. 12, where President Volodymyr Zelensky was expected to present his victory plan. However, he put off his visit in order to oversee the emergency response to Hurricane Milton.
Editor’s Note: This is issue 150 of Ukrainian State-Owned Enterprises Weekly, covering events from Sept. 29 – Oct. 5, 2024. The Kyiv Independent is reposting it with permission. Corporate governance of SOEs Cabinet completes the composition of UDI’s supervisory board. On Oct. 4, the Cabinet of Ministers appointed Timur
NATO has been advised to significantly bolster its defense capabilities, as outlined in a report by German media channel Welt.
Speaking at a panel discussion at the Warsaw Security Forum attended by the Kyiv Independent, Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur explained that "everybody in the society will contribute a bit more."
Expenses for Russian President Vladimir Putin and the presidential administration will increase to 30.9 billion rubles ($332 million) in 2025. The bulk of the expenses — 21 billion rubles ($235 million) are earmarked for an increase in salaries for the president and his staff.
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