Germany will continue creating joint ventures with Ukraine in the defense industry, including in the field of drone production, but not missiles. This was stated by German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius at a press conference in Kyiv on January 14.
“We will continue to invest in the Ukrainian defense industry,” Pistorius said, recalling that this was the topic of his latest meeting with counterparts from Poland, France, Italy and the United Kingdom in Warsaw.
“German-Ukrainian joint ventures will play a central role,” Pistorius noted, clarifying that this was not about the joint production of missiles of any type, including the Taurus.
“This was not discussed,” he said, answering questions from the press.
At the same time, the minister noted that the negotiations in Kyiv showed that all parties benefited from cooperation. He noted that the meeting with representatives from Ukraine’s defense industry showed how “dynamic and creative” the Ukrainian defense producers were, in particular, when it came to the production of drones.
“There are many opportunities for German companies to cooperate here, in particular by creating a joint venture,” the German Defense Minister informed, hinting that specific plans were already in the pipeline.
As for the production of other types of weapons, according to him, Ukrainian industry is developing incredibly quickly and flexibly responds to the Army needs.
Drones were also discussed with the leadership of the Ministry of Digital Transformation.
The main topic of the negotiations with the head of the Defense Ministry was the continuation of training for Ukrainian recruits on the territory of Germany. Germany has annually trained about 10,000 Ukrainian soldiers since the start of the full-scale war.
Pistorius said he would not advise the Ukrainian command on what to do regarding mobilization and resolving manpower issues.
The minister reiterated that, regardless of which government led Germany after the February 23 elections, German support for Ukraine would remain strong. He said the main task was preventing “temporary failures” in arms supplies to Kyiv.
Answering a question about EUR 3 billion for the aid package, which had been widely discussed lately, Pistorius recalled that the German budget for 2025 had not been approved yet, and if the government committed to allocating this sum now, it would have to find this money somewhere. It would be impossible to simply take it from other expenditures, including on social assistance, so it was necessary to “look for other ways,” the politician said, expressing hope that this would be done in the coming days. (Ukrinform)