KYIV: EU chief Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday announced a "drone deal" with Ukraine to boost joint production of the key battlefield technology. "This deal will bring together Ukrainian ingenuity and Europe's industrial scale," von der Leyen said in Kyiv, after receiving an award from President Volodymyr Zelensky. Ukraine has already signed similar deals with some individual EU countries and Gulf nations looking to tap into the expertise Kyiv has developed during more than four years of war with Russia.
The deals are adapted to each country, but typically involve Kyiv providing blueprints for drone technology in exchange for royalties, investments and other military hardware. "In Europe, we already have huge technological and industrial capacity that can be deployed, and we have safe and secure production sites that can help to scale up," von der Leyen said. "But we do not have the battle-tested knowledge and expertise that Ukraine has forged," she added. "We can work on joint production, on making all of the components of the system work, and we can provide both defence industrial bases with the impetus needed to decisively step up investment and production."
The EU is pushing to bolster its drone capabilities after a series incursions in countries along its eastern border neighbouring Ukraine and Russia. "The knowledge you have gained on how to work drone and anti-drone systems is truly unique," von der Leyen told Zelensky in her speech. "We must tap into this together, because we know the threats that Europe faces in this area." Von der Leyen did not give any details on how much — if any — new funding was involved in the deal.
Europe is Ukraine's main backer in its war against Russia, and recently starting paying out a 90-billion-euro loan to help Kyiv arm its troops and plug holes in its budget. An initial six billion euros of the loan is going towards helping ramp up Ukraine's drone production.
Drones dominate the front line in Ukraine, inflicting heavy casualties on attacking Russian forces. Kyiv has also honed it abilities to shoot down Russian attack drone targeting cities across the country. Zelensky in a speech said that Ukraine was now producing 10 million drones a year and aimed to double that output. "We will achieve this together with our partners, once again proving the success of Ukraine's defence industry, and of our partners', and of Europe's," he added.
Meanwhile, Russian strikes killed six people and wounded at least 20 across Ukraine on Wednesday, regional authorities said. The daytime attacks targeted industrial and medical facilities in the Black Sea port city of Odesa and in the northeastern city of Sumy, near the border with Russia. "The enemy launched six guided aerial bombs," said Sumy regional governor Oleg Grygorov. "Three people were killed and 17 were wounded. "Among the dead are a woman and a man," he added. "Another person sustained extremely severe injuries, making it currently impossible to determine their gender."
Odesa endured another day of Russian drone and missile attacks targeting its port and civilian infrastructure, the authorities there said. "A massive combined missile and drone attack on the Odesa region has been ongoing for the fifth day in a row," said governor Oleg Kiper. "Three people were killed, and at least three others were injured," he added. Russia has in recent months intensified bombardments of Ukrainian urban areas.
More civilians were killed in Ukraine in June than in any single month since April 2022, the United Nations said Tuesday, as Russia escalated long-range missile strikes. Exploiting Ukraine's shortage of air-defence missiles, Russia has in recent months intensified its bombardments of densely populated urban areas, especially the capital Kyiv. "At least 293 civilians were killed and 1,990 injured in Ukraine in June 2026," said the UN's human rights monitoring mission in Ukraine.
In total, the UN has recorded 16,431 verified civilian deaths in Ukraine since Russia attacked in February 2022 — among them 803 children. But the organisation says that number is likely a significant underestimate, as it cannot verify the numbers killed in intense fighting at the start of the war in places now under Russia's control — including Mariupol and Lysychansk, where thousands are believed to have been killed. — AFP
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