The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, arrived in Kyiv on 15 July. She announced that she plans to unveil new initiatives to integrate the defence sectors of Ukraine and the EU, as well as to discuss Ukraine’s accession to the European Union and preparations for the coming winter.
Briefly about the main points
- Ursula von der Leyen arrived in Kyiv on 15 July.
- This is her 11th visit to the Ukrainian capital since the start of the invasion.
- The main topic is the integration of the defence sectors of Ukraine and the EU.
- The parties will also discuss Ukraine’s accession to the European Union.
- The day before, the EU opened negotiations on the external relations cluster.
Agenda for the Kyiv talks
On arrival in Kyiv Ursula von der Leyen she posted on social media X. According to her, this is her 11th visit to the Ukrainian capital since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion.
The President of the European Commission has stated that she intends to announce new initiatives aimed at integrating the defence sectors of Ukraine and the EU. She said the aim was to enable them to produce more and faster.
Von der Leyen also said that the parties would discuss European integration Ukraine and preparations for the coming winter. She described the situation as «improving» and referred to what she saw as Ukraine’s strong military momentum.
Accession negotiations have moved forward by another cluster
On 14 July, the day before the visit, the EU and Ukraine launched negotiations under Cluster 6, «External Relations». This includes sections on external relations, as well as foreign, security and defence policy.
The Council of the EU has announced that criteria have been established for the future provisional closure of these chapters. This is the second open cluster after «Fundamentals», on which negotiations began on 15 June 2026.
This new phase involves, in particular, Ukraine aligning its positions with those of the EU on foreign policy, sanctions and other restrictive measures. The topic of accession, which has been put on the agenda for the talks in Kyiv, therefore has a direct procedural context.
Defence cooperation following the Paris agreements
Before travelling to Kyiv, von der Leyen was in Paris, where meetings of the «coalition of the willing» and a founding meeting took place on 13 July Anti-Ballistic Missile Coalition with Ukraine’s participation.
Members of the «coalition of the willing» have announced their intention to step up supplies of air defence systems, interceptors and long-range capabilities to Ukraine. They also welcomed the granting of licences to Ukraine to manufacture interceptors.
The defence aspect of the visit could mark a continuation of these decisions in the area of joint production. No specific new decisions resulting from the talks in Kyiv had yet been announced at the time of von der Leyen’s arrival.
The financial basis for joint projects
On 25 June, the European Commission announced the first tranche of €3.2 billion in budgetary support as part of a €90 billion loan to Ukraine for 2026–2027. At the same time, it announced the first tranche of €6 billion from a defence package for the procurement of drones.
During the recovery conference, agreements worth over 1.1 billion euros were also signed under the Ukraine Investment Framework. Of this amount, 343 million euros in grants and guarantees are earmarked for major private-sector projects in strategic sectors, including dual-use sectors.
These decisions provide financial backing for the integration of the defence sectors announced by von der Leyen, although she has not yet disclosed the details of any potential new projects.
