While spending dominated discussions at the Nato summit in the Hague, which concluded on 25 June with a new target of 5% of GDP on defence by 2035, including non-military security investments, Ukraine appears to have fallen slightly below the radar.
The president of the ravaged nation, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, arrived in the Hague on 24 June while Russian forces conducted drone strikes against his country, resulting in 100 civilian casualties.
Out of 97 Shahed and decoy drones, Ukraine’s Air Force revealed that the military had intercepted 63 systems and that 15 units were “lost” or suppressed by electronic warfare (EW) systems.
Russia’s enduring and indiscriminate bombardment of Ukrainian people and infrastructure shaped Zelenskyy’s goals at the summit, where the main focus was on air defence and interceptors.
Still, Ukraine obtained numerous forms of support at the summit – politically, militarily, financially, and industrially.
Political takeaways
Zelenskyy met with the capricious US president Donald Trump during the summit, where the two heads of state discussed the ongoing war with Russia, the threat to civilians and critical infrastructure, as well as the stalled negotiations with Russian representatives in Istanbul.
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By GlobalDataThe exchange proved successful despite previous tension after their White House meeting at the end of February, when the Ukrainian leader was subject to a baseless provocation led by Trump’s vice president, JD Vance.
However, this time around the meeting was fruitful with the two committing to joint production of unspecified weapons and EW systems. Buoyed by the encounter, Trump even raised to prospect of selling Patriot batteries to Ukraine during a press conference after the meeting.
After the summit closed, Zelenskyy obtained another political victory on his Western European tour in a meeting with the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Alain Berset, in Strasbourg yesterday (26 June).
The meeting marked the establishment of a Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine which will sit in the Hague.
The head of state, the head of government, and the minister of foreign affairs will each bear responsibility for crimes, according to details of the Tribunal, with no mention of personal immunities. This means the Russian leaders will not escape accountability, even after they leave office.
The Special Tribunal will cooperate with the International Criminal Court. Both institutions will be able to investigate cases in parallel.
Its creation involved 39 countries, the European Union, and the Council of Europe. The preparatory process lasted more than two years and was officially endorsed in Lviv on 9 May 2025 .
Military commitments
Allies will offer Ukraine £4.5bn ($6.18bn) of military assistance in 2025, more than ever before, according to a cost estimate from the UK Ministry of Defence.
Most recently, using £70m from the interest accrued on frozen Russian assets, the UK announced during the summit that the government will purchase 350 advanced short-range air-to-air missiles (ASRAAMs) for Ukraine’s use in an effort to strengthen its air defence capabilities.
ASRAAM missiles can be configured for different purposes, particularly a surface-to-air role from either the Raven or Gravehawk air defence systems. These two low-cost platforms are designed by the UK for Kyiv, leveraging existing unwanted British military hardware for frontline use.
“Russia’s indiscriminate missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian cities show that Putin is not serious about peace, and it’s right that we use funds from seized Russian assets to help Ukraine defend itself from this onslaught,” remarked the UK Defence Secretary John Healey.
Likewise, the Dutch defence minister, Ruben Brekelmens, said that the Netherlands had signed contracts to produce 600,000 drones for Ukraine’s armed forces. The package also includes the delivery of 100 additional radar systems for uncrewed aerial vehicle detection and equipment for evacuating the wounded.
Onshoring Ukrainian industry
One unique commitment came from the Danish government, which signed a letter of intent to jointly produce weapons, particularly long-range drones, outside of Ukraine.
Ukrainian defence companies will establish a presence in the Nordic nation and accelerate weapons production with government funds worth DKr500m ($78m).
One of the Danish objectives in onshoring Ukrainian defence production is to distribute its supply chains more widely to the benefit of the Danish market. For example, in other areas, Denmark has already shifted its shipbuilding to South Korean yards.
However, Denmark recognises that Ukrainian system design is the key to uplifting European defence competitiveness with affordable and proven kit. The European Commission has set out its defence industrial objectives in March 2024 to increase intra-EU defence trade by at least 35% by the end of the decade, and at least 50% of the EU defence procurement budget from within the union in that time.
The agreement also provides for coordination between Denmark’s Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Industry, Business and Financial Affairs, and Ministry of Foreign Affairs to integrate Ukrainian enterprises into the European defence ecosystem.
