The Ukraine Facility Platform has launched the EU-UA Strategic Defence Advisory Group

The Ukraine Facility Platform has launched a new security initiative – the EU-UA Strategic Defence Advisory Group, bringing together leading analysts from the Netherlands, Germany, France, Poland, Great Britain and Ukraine.

Its aim is to develop a strategic vision for the joint development of Ukraine’s and Europe’s defence, as well as to design frameworks for assessing security risks and responding to global threats. The first meeting took place in Lviv in November with the support of the Lviv City Council.

🔹 Why do Ukraine and the EU need this?

The traditional architecture of global security is changing. The United States is no longer prepared to guarantee it, while Russia is consolidating its military-industrial capabilities with China and North Korea. Therefore, Ukraine and Europe need defence-industrial integration to counter global security threats. The model of cooperation in which «Ukraine fights and Europe helps» is no longer effective.

🔹 A win-win solution

Europe has the financial resources Ukraine needs, but the EU lacks speed and an updated defence strategy. Military doctrines do not match the realities of modern warfare, defence procurement is slow and fragmented, and major defence companies block other players from entering the market. This creates a dangerous «window of vulnerability» that Russia may exploit, and that the US may unintentionally widen as it reduces its role in European security.

At the same time, Ukraine is uniquely positioned to accelerate the transformation of Europe’s defence sector. No EU country is capable of fighting a full-scale war while simultaneously scaling up production and maintaining innovation at the pace required on the front line.

Localising critical components, replacing China in sensitive supply chains, establishing joint defence hubs, and launching integrated R&D programmes and production lines are real opportunities that can drive the integration of EU and Ukrainian defence industries.

The task of the Strategic Group is to develop a joint strategy for such integration.

*EU-UA Strategic Defence Advisory Group is the initiative of the Ukraine Facility Platform. The Group was organised by Kees Klompenhouwer, member of the UAFP Coordination Committee and former Ambassador of the Netherlands to Ukraine. It brings together experts, politicians, diplomats, and former government officials from Poland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Great Britain and Ukraine.

Those working on a strategy to strengthen the security of the EU and Ukraine include:

Kees Klompenhouwer, member of the UAFP Coordination Committee and former Ambassador of the Netherlands to Ukraine;

François Heisbourg, a special advisor at the Fondation pour la Recherche Stratégique (FRS);

Daniel Szeligowski, head of the Eastern Europe Programme at the Polish Institute of International Affairs (PISM);

Roderich Kiesewetter, Bundestag member of parliament from the Christian Democratic Union party (CDU) and former Colonel in the Bundeswehr;

Nigel Gould-Davies, senior fellow for Russia and Eurasia at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS);

Joris Voorhoeve, professor emeritus of International Politics and Organizations at Leiden University and former Minister of Defence of the Netherlands (1994–1998);

Lana Zerkal, member of the Coordination Committee of the Ukraine Facility Platform, former deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine (2014-2019);

Roman Vybranovskyy, co-founder of the Ukraine Facility Platform;

Olga Khoroshylova, coordinator of the UAFP’s Defence and Industry sector.