Situation at a glance: Europeans want to help the Ukrainian defense industry

Germany and four major European partners want to strengthen the Ukrainian defense industry in the defense against Russia. “If the money is there, if the armaments capacity for production is there, then Ukraine itself will be quickest in supplying its own troops with materials and weapons,” said Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) at the end of a meeting with his colleagues from Poland, France, Great Britain and Italy in a suburb of the Polish capital Warsaw.

The possibilities for cooperation with Ukraine in arms production have not yet been exhausted, said Poland’s Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz. This was also discussed with the Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, who was connected via video. It involves cooperation between several partner companies to develop production capacities in European countries as well as joint initiatives with Ukraine.

New format set up after Trump’s election victory

“2025 must be the year of expansion of the defense industry in Europe,” said Kosiniak-Kamysz. Europe must show unity, not just in citing common values, but in implementing these values.

The five-party format with the meetings of European defense ministers was set up after Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election in November. The aim is to strengthen European security and defense preparedness. Trump has repeatedly raised doubts about the reliability of the US under his leadership in the alliance. It is unclear, for example, whether and how the United States will continue to provide military support to Ukraine after he takes office on January 20th.

“We don’t need mediators, we need allies”

A few hours before the meeting in Warsaw, Pistorius handed over to the Ukrainian ambassador Oleksii Makeiev the first new wheeled howitzer, the RCH 155, which was manufactured in Germany and is intended to enable shooting from motion for the first time.

“Ukraine, and that is the signal, can count on us. And Germany is ready to take responsibility in Europe,” said Pistorius in Kassel, where the tank manufacturer KNDS – a merger of the traditional German company KMW and the French arms company Nexter – the Weapon system produced. The first 6 of the 54 wheeled howitzers promised will initially remain in Germany and be used to train Ukrainian soldiers.

“We don’t need mediators, we need allies,” said Makeiev, referring to possible negotiations to end the war. Peace must be fought for. It is good to know that Germany is on Ukraine’s side.

Will civil flight operations resume in Lviv?

Meanwhile, fighting between Ukrainian and Russian forces continues. Civilian flight operations could possibly resume soon at Lviv International Airport in the far west of Ukraine. “We are examining the possibility of allowing civil aviation flights during martial law, provided that all safety requirements for aircraft, passengers and infrastructure are met,” the airport administration said on Facebook. Documents for the evacuation of passengers already exist and the airport’s civil infrastructure has always been kept in an operational condition.

The airspace over Ukraine, against which Russia has been waging a destructive war of aggression for almost three years, is currently closed to civil aviation. All civil airports are closed, all traffic and transportation is carried out via roads and railways.

New turn in the dispute between Kyiv and Bratislava

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj and Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico are looking for ways to resolve the dispute between the two neighboring countries that has been going on since Christmas. The reason for this was the transit stop decided by Kiev for Russian natural gas, which has no longer been sent to Europe since the beginning of the year. Fico therefore traveled to Moscow for a surprise visit to Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin and later threatened to stop electricity deliveries to Ukraine.

In view of the resulting mutual accusations and threats that both sides have been making for weeks, Fico has now invited the Ukrainian head of state to a discussion in Slovakia. In an “open letter” to Zelensky published by the government office in Bratislava, the Prime Minister, who was suspected by critics of being a left-wing populist friend of Russia, recalled that Slovakia had always supported its neighboring country. Zelensky should use the newly opened direct rail connection from Kiev to Slovakia for his visit.

The Ukrainian responded with a counter-invitation on platform

From Fico’s point of view, the Ukrainian transit stop for Russian gas not only harms Slovakia, but also the EU and Ukraine itself. He appealed to the Ukrainian side to take part in discussions on this at EU level. Slovakia is also offering itself as a host for Ukrainian-Russian peace negotiations.

What will be important on Tuesday

After several suspected acts of sabotage on the open sea, Chancellor Olaf Scholz and heads of state and government from other NATO countries will discuss security in the Baltic Sea region on Tuesday. At a summit in the Finnish capital Helsinki, the main aim is to find ways to better protect critical infrastructure in the Baltic Sea and counter the threat from the so-called Russian shadow fleet. This refers to ships that Russia uses to evade sanctions imposed as a result of the invasion of Ukraine, for example when transporting oil.