Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov wants billions more in military aid to continue his transformation of the Ukrainian military and continue shifting the momentum against Russia.
According to Ukrinform, he made the remarks in an interview with Politico.
Kyiv is asking its allies to seize what officials describe as a "fleeting opportunity": fund a new wave of drones, missiles and military technology that could keep Russia off balance and deepen Ukraine's recent gains. The goal is to force Vladimir Putin to realize he cannot win.
"We need the next level of aid to be able to finish the job," Fedorov told Politico. "If we have enough resources to launch a new cycle of war innovations before Russia adapts to the current one, we will get another six months."
"In a war of technology, you can see how quickly you can turn the tide. It all depends on the speed of financing and our actions," Fedorov said, adding "Ukraine is protecting the entirety of Europe from Russians."
Last week, Ukraine sent an urgent request to EU countries to get the entire EUR 6.6 billion recently freed up in the European Peace Fund. The EPF was blocked for years by the former Hungarian government of Viktor Orban; the money is supposed to partially reimburse EU countries for military aid sent to Ukraine. However, rather than going back into national treasuries, Fedorov wants the money sent to Kyiv.
"EPF could become a game-changer for us, an accelerator of our current success on the battlefield. So, I think we need to launch consultations with every country that will be hesitating," he said.
Fedorov also credited the EU with being much faster in processing aid for Ukraine, calling it "the EU 2.0."
Kyiv says its military spending needs this year will be EUR 136 billion, of which it can only cover EUR 53 billion from its own resources. The EU's newly agreed Ukraine Support Loan promises about EUR 28.3 billion in military aid this year – part of an overall two-year EUR 90 billion loan. There are also additional bilateral military aid packages, as well as the NATO-led Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List (PURL), where allies buy U.S. weapons for Kyiv.
But that's still not enough, said Fedorov. The country needs billions more in targeted aid, "and we need it tomorrow."
Fedorov has clear ideas on how to use that money. One is to refocus aid on what Ukraine needs, and not what is convenient for donor countries to give.
He gave an example of Denmark, which has switched orders of 155-millimeter artillery ammunition to extended-range variants more useful on the front lines.
"They quickly signed a contract and made the first delivery in just a week. If there is a desire and strength to overcome bureaucracy, everything is possible," Fedorov said.
He also suggested reallocating EUR 200 million currently earmarked for tank repairs – which he argued are not useful in the current state of the war – to invest in the medium-range strike drones able to hit trucks and logistics supplies about 100 kilometers behind the front lines.
"Let's review the existing contracts, let's abandon the non-priority ones," Fedorov said.
Fedorov credited the change in momentum in the war to decisions made earlier this year.
One key effort was getting Elon Musk's Starlink to block satellite internet terminals for Russians, another was revamping weapons procurement in the first quarter of the year.
While the EU's promised EUR 90 billion loan was stalled, Ukraine took the risk "to purchase fiber-optic drones, middle-strike drones, interceptors," Fedorov said.
"Together with our partners, we changed the quality of aid, and that means billions of dollars we started using for what we really need: increasing interceptor production, cheap missiles, cruise missiles and jet engine drones," Fedorov said.
"Our middle-strike campaign is aimed at protecting our infantry, stopping Russian advancement, and disrupting their resupply. Russians already feel it. At some parts of the front, they slowed down," the minister added.
Fedorov also called on Ukraine's partners to help finance higher salaries for the military.
"The faster partners send military aid, the better chance we would be able to free state funds to pay new salaries," Fedorov said, adding: "Today, the Ukrainian army is the most prepared in Europe. Where else you would find troops able to destroy 30,000 to 35,000 Russian soldiers per month?"
According to Politico, those military upgrades have one goal – to demonstrate to Putin that the war against Ukraine is unwinnable.
"He has to feel the cost is too high to continue," Fedorov said.
Photo provided by the Ukrainian Defense Ministry's press service
