Today, a joint meeting of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on National Security, Defense, and Intelligence with colleagues from the German Bundestag took place. People’s Deputy Iryna Friz reported this on behalf of the “European Solidarity” faction.
“Germany is a strategic partner of our state and provides multifaceted support to the security and defense sector. We discussed the latest information on the situation at the front. Also in focus during the meeting were the implementation of defense procurement during the war and the role and function of parliamentary oversight. Modern warfare forms new requirements for conducting combat operations, which are directly related to the development of new defense industry technologies. Directions such as air defense, electronic warfare/radio-electronic reconnaissance (EW/SIGINT), cybersecurity, and ISR require more attention,” Friz is convinced.
“We emphasized the success of existing cooperation programs in the defense-industrial complex, PURL, and Brave1 Ukraine. Ukrainian companies are already working in Germany, and German investments help scale up arms production in Ukraine, as our manufacturers can significantly increase arms production if resources are available. It is necessary to increase high-tech production of radar systems, software, command centers, and communication systems, as they are an integral component of using drones both on the battlefield and in air defense systems,” the People’s Deputy emphasizes.
She also reported that during the meeting, Ukrainian deputies proposed areas of further cooperation to their German colleagues:
- accelerate the PURL program;
- localize the production of air defense and ammunition in Ukraine;
- ensure joint production of high-tech equipment;
- strengthen sanctions to the level of a full financial blockade of Russia’s military budget.
“Germany and Europe realize that Putin does not plan to end hostilities. Through joint efforts, we must repel Muscovy for the sake of the Euro-Atlantic space’s security. We thanked our German partners for their help from the first days of the full-scale invasion and systematic cooperation since 2014. We have a lot of joint work ahead of us,” Iryna Friz concludes.