The European Commission (EC) has allowed Ukraine to spend part of a European Union loan on purchasing components for Chinese-made drones. The Financial Times reported this, citing sources.

According to the newspaper, this concerns the first tranche of €5.9 billion under a €60 billion defense loan. Kyiv may use these funds to purchase weapons whose production is primarily carried out by companies from the EU, Canada, or the United Kingdom. Other countries allied with the EU may join the scheme by concluding a partnership agreement with Brussels. The share of companies from other states must not exceed 35%.

Exceptions to these rules are предусмотрены in cases where the military products needed by Kyiv have no equivalents in the approved list of countries or are produced by them in insufficient quantities. The Ukrainian authorities asked the EC to allow part of the €5.9 billion to be spent on purchasing certain components for Chinese-made drones. The European Commission and Ukraine’s Defense Ministry did not respond to the newspaper’s request for comment.

As the newspaper notes, the EC’s decision underscores that the European Union’s defense industry continues to face capability shortages, despite efforts to strengthen Europe’s industrial base by increasing arms supplies to Ukraine.