Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, with Volodymyr Zelenskyj at a meeting in Brussels in 2025.Image: Keystone
analysis
Ukraine’s military know-how is the best defense against a Russian attack.
April 29, 2026, 7:59 p.mApril 29, 2026, 7:59 p.m
There are so many different ways to worry: While in Washington, after the attempted assassination of the president, people are primarily concerned with whether they need a $400 million ballroom immediately, the European heads of state had to once again deal with the danger of an impending attack from Russia at their meeting in Cyprus.
Donald Tusk, the Polish Prime Minister, made it clear that such an attack could occur “within months” and expressed doubts that in this case the USA would fulfill its obligations under Article Five of the NATO Treaty and provide aid to its Western allies. Therefore, Europe must seriously think about how it can repel such an attack without American help, said Tusk.
Donald Tusk, Prime Minister of Poland, warns.Image: keystone
The war in Ukraine showed that drones have become a central part of modern warfare. Because the Ukrainians have now acquired a great deal of know-how on this issue, they have managed to survive the worst Russian attacks in the harshest winter since the beginning of the war. British Admiral Tony Radakin describes what they have achieved in the “Washington Post” as follows: “We should show awe, admiration and gratitude for this achievement.”
These defense drones destroy Russian attack drones.Image: AP
A year ago, negative assessments dominated. The prevailing assessment at the time was that the Russian army would slowly but surely crush the Ukrainians because it did not care about losses, no matter how high they were. Things now sound much more optimistic. Lieutenant General Kyrylo Budanov, the former head of the Ukrainian secret service and currently an important advisor to President Volodymyr Zelensky, also explains in the Washington Post: “We will definitely not lose this war.”
The Ukrainians can currently fend off around 70 percent of all Russian drones. Brigadier Oleksandr Yarmak, who is responsible for this defense, expects this rate to rise to 90 percent by the end of the year. The Ukrainians succeed in fighting like with like, which means: They shoot down the Russian attack drones with defensive drones that are also cheap.
If the Russians attack the West, it will urgently need this know-how. “My message to our European partners is: You must also build up this defense capacity very quickly,” said Brigadier Yarmak. “An attack by 500 drones in one day could otherwise lead to a surrender very quickly.”
This message has already arrived. Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, head of the NATO Military Committee, explains: “War is a race against innovation and time is crucial. To win this race against time, we need cooperation with Ukraine.”
Volodymyr Zelenskyj visiting Qatar.Image: X
The Gulf states have already put these findings into practice. They learned the hard way that cheap Iranian drones can cause great damage and that it makes no sense to shoot them down with very expensive missiles. President Zelensky has managed to use this insight to his advantage. He has signed contracts with various Gulf states that also make drone know-how available to Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
At the same time, he sent 200 experts to these countries. “This helps Ukrainian companies and the economy,” explains Orysia Lutsevych from Chatham House, a London think tank, in the New Yorker. “Globally speaking, this is a big victory for the Ukrainians.”
Russia also benefits from the war in Iran, mainly from the high price of oil and from the stupidity of Donald Trump, who temporarily lifted the sanctions against Russian oil. Nevertheless, military specialist Hanna Notte comes to the conclusion in the “Financial Times”:
«Zelenskyj has ensured that a growing number of countries have an interest in Ukraine’s survival. This is a good prospect for a country that is engaged in a war of attrition with no end in sight. The US-Israeli war against Iran may have given the Russians a short-term boom. In the long term, however, Ukraine will benefit far more from it.”
Those who have concerns about Ukraine’s rapid accession to the EU
Back to Europe. Because the obstacle Viktor Orban has been removed, the loan of 90 billion euros to Ukraine has now been released by the EU. But there is still disagreement on the question of whether and how quickly Ukraine should be granted EU membership. Peter Magyar, the newly elected Hungarian Prime Minister, is not the only one who is cautious about this. Germany and France are no longer in a hurry on this issue either.
Those who have concerns about Ukraine’s rapid accession to the EU argue that corruption in Kiev is far from being defeated. At the same time, they are afraid that their own powerful farmers’ lobby will fight tooth and nail.
As justified as these concerns may be, they are the lesser evil in view of the threat from Russia. Or as Alexander Stubb, the President of Finland, explains in the Economist: “We Europeans must finally recognize that we need Ukraine more than Ukraine needs us.”