New Ukraine-EU defense alliance signals revival of Europe's defense industry — military expert

He shared his opinions with Espreso TV.

Shares of European companies have sharply risen, indicating that Europe is starting to respond, realizing that funding for the defense sector is becoming a priority.

"This will be a true revival of the European defense industry in cooperation with Ukrainian companies, as there are many areas where effective collaboration already exists. For example, Rheinmetall is a company that systematically supplies us with ammunition. The ammunition production plant is set to start operating in 2026. In terms of numbers, European forces are currently even smaller than the Ukrainian army overall. Europe has about 83 brigades, while we have 110. Cooperation with Europe should be active," Zgurets noted.

According to him, assistance with various types of weapons must continue, despite the limitations from the European side.

"An important component is the aviation of NATO countries and European states, which can be used to support the protection of Ukraine’s airspace and limit Russia's ability to use its attack capabilities against Ukraine," Zgurets said.

Despite Russia's advantage, their advances are limited to specific sections of the front line. Overall, the situation is not catastrophic. Russia is unable to systematically and critically alter the course of events. The focus now is on strengthening resilience.

"The potential for weapon supply, especially from America, is secured for the next six months. We hope that during this time, the situation with European countries' cooperation will shift in our favor. This includes financial aid and the restructuring of reserves in European states, especially aviation and other means of destruction necessary for protecting the interests of Ukraine and Europe," added the military expert.

Foreign troops are not ready to engage in combat against Russia on Ukraine's side, at least this year, Zgurets believes.

"European countries are not ready for this either quantitatively or qualitatively. But it is now crucial for Europeans to integrate their enormous financial potential, creating political unity on certain decisions, and then expand this potential to the military component, both their own and Ukraine's. This will take some time. From Europe's side, the main form of assistance at this point is systematic financial support, the announcement of aid packages, and the acceleration of work by European companies on the production of new weapon models," he summarized.

• The EU plans to deliver a military aid package worth at least €6 billion to Ukraine to strengthen Kyiv's strategic position ahead of possible negotiations with Russia.