“Instead of us thinking that Ukraine needs Europe, perhaps we should think that we in Europe need Ukraine more,” Finnish President Alexander Stubb commented on April 28 in Helsinki. Ukraine, the Finnish leader noted, has “the largest, most efficient, and most modern military in Europe.”
Stubb is one of many senior European officials to acknowledge the growing importance of Ukraine as wartime Kyiv transitions from aid recipient to security partner. This change in tone was already evident late last year, when EU Defense Commissioner Andrius Kubilius told European lawmakers that while Ukraine’s defense industry needed European support, “we need Ukraine’s defense innovations even more.”
Europe’s interest in Ukraine’s military capabilities is understandable. The continent currently finds itself confronted by the twin security challenges of a revisionist Russia and a United States administration signaling its intention to step back from the transatlantic alliance. With American support no longer taken for granted, European countries must now reverse decades of national security complacency and regain the ability to defend themselves. Ukraine is widely recognized as an indispensable partner in this undertaking.
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Since the onset of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, Ukraine has undergone a remarkable military transformation. Four years on, the Ukrainian army is now the largest fighting force in Europe and has established itself as a world leader in drone warfare. Ukraine is already sharing this unrivaled experience of modern military operations with partner countries across Europe. For example, Kyiv and Berlin recently agreed on an initiative that will see Ukrainian military instructors provide training at German military academies.
Ukrainian officials are also leveraging the country’s rising military profile to strengthen ties with other regions. Following the recent outbreak of hostilities in the Middle East, Kyiv sent anti-drone specialists to five Gulf states to help defend against Iranian drone attacks. This led to the signing of long-term security partnership agreements with Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. In late April, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy continued his drone diplomacy with a visit to Azerbaijan that resulted in further commitments to deepen security cooperation.
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European leaders clearly take the threat posed by Putin’s Russia seriously. In recent years, the Kremlin has intensified its hybrid war campaign against Europe with an expanding array of cyberattacks, political interference, sabotage operations, and intimidation tactics designed to destabilize Europe from within while remaining below the threshold of conventional warfare. There are now mounting concerns in European capitals that Moscow may seek to escalate further, with some security officials warning that a military attack in the coming years cannot be ruled out.
Europe is currently rushing to rearm, with countries across the continent increasing domestic defense budgets and military production output to levels not seen in decades. In parallel, efforts are underway to intensify cooperation with Ukraine and integrate the Ukrainian defense industry. A recently confirmed €90 billion EU loan for Ukraine will help turbo-charge this process, with significant funds set to be earmarked for joint production initiatives and large-scale military purchases in multiple European countries.
European leaders are actively exploring ways to formalize this emerging defense partnership with Ukraine and develop a more comprehensive European security framework. A range of formats have been floated in recent months to advance European military cooperation, while Kyiv has elevated security ties with a number of individual European countries. In April, Germany and Ukraine unveiled a landmark strategic partnership that could serve as a blueprint for others. More European countries including Italy, Norway, and Britain have also recently taken steps to deepen military engagement with Ukraine. The challenge now will be to embed these bilateral relationships in a broader institutional framework.
More than a year since the return of US President Donald Trump to the White House, it is abundantly clear that Europe needs to develop its own strategic vision for the continent’s future defense. It is equally apparent that Ukraine must be central to this vision. Kyiv has emerged since 2022 as an innovative and battle-hardened partner with military knowledge and technological expertise that Europe desperately needs.
European leaders have yet to agree on the preferred format for the continent’s future security architecture. While EU defense chief Kubilius continues to push the concept of a European Defense Union that would tie Ukraine and other potential member countries including Britain and Norway more closely to their European Union allies, others have expressed skepticism. For example, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has warned that such plans could risk blurring chains of command in a crisis. At the same time, there is widespread acceptance that Europe must embrace wholesale defense sector reform and integrate Ukraine in order to enhance the continent’s readiness to counter Russia.
Zahar Hryniv is a program assistant at the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center.
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The views expressed in UkraineAlert are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Atlantic Council, its staff, or its supporters.
The Eurasia Center’s mission is to enhance transatlantic cooperation in promoting stability, democratic values, and prosperity in Eurasia, from Eastern Europe and Turkey in the West to the Caucasus, Russia, and Central Asia in the East.
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