On 9 May 2025, representatives of Ukrainian civil society met with the European Union Commissioner for Defence and Space, Andrius Kubilius, in Kyiv. Tetiana Nikolaienko, a member of the Independent Anti-Corruption Commission (NAKO), also attended the meeting.
Participants discussed how the EU and its Member States can mobilise resources to finance arms production, particularly in the context of a possible reduction in US military assistance. Civil society representatives stressed the importance of a common strategic policy between Ukraine and the EU, as well as the need to develop and implement an effective national strategy for the development of the Ukrainian defence industry.
It was stressed that state funding for the defence sector should be allocated in a transparent and efficient manner. Participants cited example of the Ministry of Strategic Industries transferring funds to a plant that supplied defective products to the front line, including mines that did not explode.
The meeting also focused on the control of defence procurement, the work of civil society anti-corruption initiatives and the challenges of fighting corruption in the defence and security sectors.
European Commissioner Andrius Kubilius is on a working visit to Kyiv. As part of the trip, he met with Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, Defence Minister Rustem Umerov and Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, and spoke at the Kyiv Security Forum. According to Kubilius, he discussed with his Ukrainian counterparts further steps by the EU in the area of military assistance, as well as ways to integrate the Ukrainian defence industry into the European one. The parties also discussed the use of the SAFE instrument, a new EU defence initiative under which member states will have access to €150 billion in loans. These funds will be used mainly for the purchase of EU and Ukrainian-made defence components.
During his visit to Kyiv, the Commissioner also took part in the commemoration of the Day of Remembrance and Reconciliation. He recalled that some 10 million Ukrainians died in the Second World War.
Photo: Hanna Hopko, Andrius Kubilius