Ukraine's parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, ratified two agreements on 16 September 2026 opening EU defence funding programmes to Ukrainian companies. Both agreements were signed on 13 July 2026 in Kyiv.
The first bill brings Ukraine into the European Defence Fund (EDF), the EU's main instrument for joint defence research, letting Ukrainian firms join EDF projects and apply for grants.
The second bill ratifies a financing agreement activating the Ukraine Support Instrument under the European Defence Industry Programme (EDIP). The instrument is meant to rebuild and modernise Ukraine's defence-industrial base and prepare it for closer integration with the EU's own.
Former Ukrainian strategic industries minister Aleksandr Kamyshin said the ratification opens more European defence projects to Ukrainian companies and that Ukraine's "battlefield experience will be useful to Europe."
Ukraine's defence ministry said in July that the instrument is worth €300 million: €260 million for expanding manufacturing capacity and €35.3 million for innovation through BraveTech EU. Grants can cover up to 100% of participants' costs. The EDF had over €1 billion allocated for 2026. Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov and EU Commissioner for Defence and Space Andrius Kubilius signed both agreements.
Reacting to the ratification, Kubilius said on X that the initiative brings Ukraine "closer and closer" to the EU, adding that "technological superiority is a deterrence".