““Ukraine very much needs the support of its allies, as it is fighting not only for its freedom, but also for security in Europe, so the aid must be continued””, — write: www.radiosvoboda.org
During the meeting, the ministers discussed how to help Ukraine and how to increase Europe’s defense potential. The first session of the meeting concerned Ukraine, so Ukrainian Defense Minister Umyerov was on the online connection.
According to Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosyniak-Kamis, “Ukraine is in great need of the support of allies, as it is fighting not only for its freedom, but also for security in Europe, so the aid must be continued.”
“We confirmed allied support for Ukraine, determination to help and train the military, but above all, today the main point of conversation with Minister Umerov was the development of production opportunities between Europe and Ukraine, between our companies. In particular, it is about the development of joint initiatives with Ukraine. Such possibilities exist and they are not used. This can be a great support for Ukraine, which is fighting,” said Kosinyak-Kamysh.
The German Defense Minister also emphasized the importance of supporting Ukraine’s defense industry. Boris Pistorius emphasized that “between the countries there are already successful projects related to the production of drones and programming.”
“On the one hand, we finance Ukraine, but it is also a benefit for us, because we can take advantage of Ukrainian know-how that improves the production of products, and we want to expand this industrial cooperation,” said Pistorius.
The participants of the meeting are unanimous that “the year 2025 is crucial for the security of Europe, it is the time to increase defense spending and strengthen the military potential.”
“We talked about 2% of GDP for defense, maybe it will be 2.5%, maybe even more. We talked about how to change the rules in Europe so that all countries can cope with it, so that it is balanced,” Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto emphasized.
According to Crosetto, “the war changed the world and Ukraine’s experience is useful for Europe”: “Ukraine taught us a lot. Before, no one talked about drones as widely as today, no one interpreted it as an element that could change the course of war. This war rang everything. A challenge for Ukraine is a challenge for Europe. The security of Ukraine is the security of Europe. Accepting that Ukraine is being conquered will weaken us, our democracies and our countries. And we want to give Europe security, confidence, defense and deterrence forces. All this also serves the defense of Ukraine with the hope that a just peace will come and a return to international rules.”
“Each European country should work on strengthening Ukraine, so that it has more strength on the battlefield and in peace negotiations,” UK Deputy Defense Minister Luke Pollar emphasized during the meeting. He also assured that “his country will always be close to Ukraine.”
“We plan to spend 2.5% of GDP on defense and hope that part of these funds will also go to help Ukraine. We recently announced a £225 million aid package for Ukraine and a long-term instrument worth more than £3 billion and will increase our aid to Ukraine over time,” Pollard said.
This is the second meeting in this format. The first took place in Berlin in November of last year.
The next meeting of defense ministers of five countries will take place in Paris, Polish Minister Kosiniak-Kamis announced. Special guests there will be the Secretary General of NATO, the EU representative for foreign affairs and security policy and the EU Commissioner for Defense.
On January 1, Poland replaced Hungary as the head of the European Council.