Defence cooperation between Ukraine and Germany: joint meeting of parliamentary committees held
17 April 2026, 11:48
Defence procurement and the development of the defence industrial base were discussed during a joint online meeting of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on National Security, Defence and Intelligence and the Bundestag Defence Committee.
The meeting was opened by Marko Mihkelson, Co-Chair of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly–Ukraine-NATO Interparliamentary Council (UNIC).
Thomas Röwekamp (CDU/CSU), Chair of the Bundestag Defence Committee and a member of the German delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, presented his vision of the Bundestag’s role in defence procurement and the development of the defence industrial base in cooperation with Ukraine.
Oleksandr Zavytnevych, Chair of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Committee on National Security, Defence and Intelligence, briefed colleagues on the situation at the front, the priority needs of the Defence Forces, and the position regarding the PURL programme.
“Despite continuous pressure, Ukrainian defenders are holding their positions and have inflicted losses of over 1.3 million personnel on the aggressor. Ukraine is at the global forefront of the use of artificial intelligence in unmanned systems. More than 95% of UAVs at the front are domestically produced. The production capacity reaches up to 20 million drones per year,” Oleksandr Zavytnevych said.
According to him, interceptor drones have already proven their effectiveness, and funding for the PURL programme is an investment in the security of all Europe.
The Committee Chair noted that Ukraine offers partnership as an equal ally in production, including through the localisation of air defence systems manufacturing, joint defence development, and testing of innovations on the Brave1 EU platform.
“The outcome of this war will determine the future security architecture of Europe. By investing in Ukraine’s defence today, we are together protecting Europe tomorrow,” Oleksandr Zavytnevych emphasized.
Members of the Bundestag Defence Committee reaffirmed Germany’s unwavering commitment to supporting Ukraine for as long as it takes. It was noted that Germany is ready to increase the scope of military and financial assistance in line with the current needs of the Defence Forces, as well as to develop joint Ukraine–Germany defence production in Ukraine and across Europe in accordance with NATO standards.
It was also emphasized that continued sanctions pressure on the Russian Federation remains necessary and must be consistently strengthened and expanded until a just and lasting peace is achieved. It was underlined that every euro invested today in Ukraine’s defence represents resources saved for strengthening Europe’s security in the future.
The joint online meeting of the committees was concluded by Dominik Jankowski, Deputy Secretary General of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly for Political Affairs, who outlined further avenues for cooperation with Ukraine.