Ukraine to help Poland build 'modern drone armada,' Polish PM Tusk says

Poland is launching a new project to build a modern drone fleet with the help of Ukrainian technical expertise and European funding, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced on April 27.

"Ukraine has proven itself a partner for countries that want to defend themselves against aerial attacks," Tusk said at an event in the southeastern Polish city of Rzeszow, where he met Ukrainian Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko.

"Therefore, I can say with great satisfaction that the project of building a Polish drone fleet will be supported by the technical expertise and know-how of our Ukrainian friends."

Warsaw has stepped up efforts to cooperate with Ukraine on unmanned systems development, particularly after Russian drones were downed over Polish airspace in September 2025.

Tusk said that Poland's new drone fleet will strengthen both Poland's national security and that of its allies.

"Poland must have its own modern drone armada, so that we can not only help Ukraine today, but also tell the Polish people with full confidence that we are safe," Tusk said at the security conference held in preparation for the Ukraine Recovery Conference 2026.

The Polish prime minister emphasized that Ukraine's relations with Poland and Europe are based on mutual partnership rather than one-sided aid. According to Tusk, Warsaw played a key role in pioneering this model of partnership.

The Russia-Ukraine war saw rapid advancements in drone technology, prompting countries across Europe and the Middle East to seek Kyiv's expertise in developing unmanned systems.

At the event, Svyrydenko said that cooperation with Poland will strengthen the security of both countries.

"We don't need to explain here what Russian aggression is. We stand here shoulder to shoulder in the fight for freedom and peace," the Ukrainian prime minister said.

Poland, a NATO and EU member bordering Ukraine, has provided extensive military and humanitarian assistance to Kyiv since the outbreak of Russia's full-scale war in 2022. Its Rzeszow airport has played a key role in transiting Western military aid to the war-torn country.

read also

Soldiers ‘stop caring whether they survive’ after 40 days on front line, Ukrainian study finds

The findings come amid broader concerns over Ukraine’s mobilization system, which has faced persistent challenges in recruitment and rotation during the full-scale war.

The Kyiv IndependentPolina Moroziuk

Investigation: A secret program, ‘suicidal’ missions, and death, torture in occupied Ukraine

A Western-funded classified program supported a “non-violent resistance” initiative inside Russian-occupied Ukraine for more than three years that encouraged civilians to engage in “suicidal” activities despite credible reports of the deaths, torture, and imprisonment of activists, the Kyiv Independent can reveal. Russian-occupied Ukraine is one of the most heavily surveilled and most repressive territories in the world, and some of the activities Yellow Ribbon and its sister initiative Zla Mav

The Kyiv IndependentJimmy Rushton