Partnering with Ukraine will be essential for Europe’s rearmament

Close collaboration with Ukraine’s defence industry will be essential for supporting Europe’s rearmament and preserving the continent’s security in the face of an aggressive Russia, finds a new research report published by LSE IDEAS, the LSE’s foreign policy think tank.

Tamar Jacoby, Kyiv-based director of the Progressive Policy Institute’s New Ukraine project and the report’s author, identifies a list of challenges that have hindered attempts at cooperation so far.

This includes Soviet-legacy bureaucracy within Ukraine, corruption (both real and perceived), a perception that Ukrainian products are cheap and therefore low quality, stringent European regulations on aspects of production such as environmental impact, a lack of international business savvy among Ukrainian manufacturers, and home-industry bias from many European countries.

Yet, where partners are willing to explore new approaches, collaborations can be fruitful. Jacoby identifies nine kinds of Western-Ukrainian defence cooperation, ranging from formal to informal and government-brokered to private arrangements.

While sceptics argue that certain government-initiated schemes, such as the Build With Ukraine programme (launched in October 2025), impede joint ventures from forming due to excessive red tape, delays, and favouritism toward some firms, there is evidence of successful pairings.

For instance, a combined operation between well-financed German drone-maker Quantum Systems and a midsize Ukrainian manufacturer, Frontline Robotics. The collaboration combined Ukrainian battle-tested technology with German manufacturing might to launch a new production of strike drones in mid-February 2026.

The LSE report makes several recommendations to facilitate more effective collaborations in future.

This includes continent-wide policy incentives, as well as introducing matchmaking services and business accelerators to bridge cultural and regulatory differences between European and Ukrainian entrepreneurs. These changes would set the foundations for integrating Ukraine into the continent’s security architecture.

On the Ukrainian side, the report recommends simplifying policies and providing more consistent demand signals. For instance, replacing executive discretion on export licenses with a ‘white list’ of products and destination countries that do not need approval on a case-by-case basis.

“What’s needed is much bigger than just helping Ukraine win the war, essential as that is, or creating new markets for defence contractors, whether European or Ukrainian. What’s at stake is ultimately the defence of Europe, including Ukraine. Neither side can afford to lose sight of that goal or miss an opportunity to advance it,” says Jacoby.

The report can be accessed in full on the LSE IDEAs website via this link.

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For more information, or to speak with an LSE IDEAS affiliated expert, contact Jamie Hose at BlueSky Education on jamie@bluesky-pr.com, or call +44 (0)1582 790 706.