Ukraine is calling on NATO countries to accelerate political and military support for Ukraine, in particular by strengthening Ukrainian defense production, ensuring interoperability, and deepening integration with the defense industries of Alliance countries.
This was stated by Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine Mstyslav Banik during an online speech at the Spring Session of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, which this year took place in Lithuania. The event brought together about 250 members of parliament from all NATO member states and partner countries.
The Deputy Minister of Defense urged international partners to urgently strengthen support for Ukraine in critically important areas, given the intensity of combat operations and the battlefield situation.
Among the main priorities:
- financing the supply of air defense systems and other critical weapons through the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List (PURL);
- procurement of anti-aircraft missiles for Patriot systems;
- procurement of long-range 155 mm artillery ammunition within the Czech initiative;
- direct funding of Ukrainian drone and missile production.
“For Ukraine, it is primarily important to purchase weapons and military equipment that can be delivered to the front this year. Our industry has unique production capabilities and is able to produce up to 20 million drones annually, as well as thousands of missiles for deep strikes and air defense,” said Mstyslav Banik, Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine.
He added that, with sufficient financing, these capacities could be fully activated within a few months.
Banik informed parliamentarians about the results of Ukrainian innovations on the battlefield. Thanks to mid-range strike drones, Ukrainian forces carry out about 5,000 strikes per month at distances over 20 km, working to fully disrupt enemy logistics deep inside enemy territory. Ukraine has made the war significantly more technological and cheaper, with effective use of FPV drones and the introduction of a range of unique digital products that enable real-time reconnaissance, analytics, and calculations.
“For Ukraine to maintain its technological advantage and push the enemy back, systemic funding increases are necessary,” he said.
The Deputy Minister called on partners to provide additional bilateral funding (in addition to EU loans) to reach the target of $60 billion in aid this year.
He also expressed gratitude to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly and partner countries for their comprehensive support since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, and assured readiness to build long-term mutually beneficial cooperation.
Ukraine, he emphasized, has unique experience of modern warfare and is ready to share it with allies.
“We want to develop our relations with NATO members into a mutually beneficial partnership. This year we are ready to give Europe more: testing your products on our battlefield, sharing technologies and data, and providing lessons learned that will help strengthen your own armies. I am talking about the mathematics of war and, most importantly, about our proven ability to restore and successfully scale defense production in conditions of active full-scale war,” said Banik.
