Ukraine requires $6B to cover the domestic weapons procurement funding shortfall.

As Ukrainian Defense Minister Denys Shmyhal stated at the 29th Ramstein-format meeting, this amount is necessary to address this year’s weapons deficit. He noted that this funding would enable Ukraine to ramp up production of FPV drones to sustain the front line, increase interceptor drones to defend against Shahed drone attacks, and acquire additional long-range weapons to “turn the war to the Russian Federation.”

Shmyhal also highlighted the importance of preparing for 2026 and urged Ukraine’s partners to include funding for the country in their budgets for the upcoming year.

Meanwhile, Arsen Zhumadilov, director of the Defense Procurement Agency, mentioned that Ukrainian FPV drone manufacturers can currently produce about 8-10 million UAVs annually. However, due to funding constraints, the government plans to purchase only 4-4.5 million drones from these producers this year. He added that it remains unclear how the existing manufacturing capacity will be utilized. The options are either securing financing from international partners, particularly through the Danish model, or opening weapon exports to generate money that can be used to purchase munitions.