Von der Leyen pledges €2B for drones to Ukraine, floats reparations loan

“This allows Ukraine to scale up and to use its full capacity and of course it will also allow the European Union to benefit from this technology,” she added.

Rutte will later Tuesday join the College of Commissioners in Brussels for a discussion on defense and security issues.

Von der Leyen also moved to catalyze debate on how to fund long-term support for Ukraine.

She outlined a plan for a “reparations loan” tied to immobilized Russian assets frozen in Europe. The loan, she said, would be disbursed in tranches with conditions, with a portion earmarked for military procurement from European industry. Her comments echoed remarks by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in a Financial Times op-ed last week.

Crucially, she emphasized, “there is no seizing of the assets” — Ukraine would only repay if Russia pays reparations in a future settlement after the war.

Rutte endorsed the EU’s so-called drone wall initiative along the eastern flank, calling it “timely and necessary” in light of recent aerial incidents in Poland, Estonia and Denmark.

“We cannot spend millions of euros or dollars on missiles to take out drones which are only costing a couple of thousand dollars,” he warned.

The announcements come ahead of an informal European Council summit in Copenhagen, where leaders are set to discuss the bloc’s defense plans and preparations for a joint NATO-EU Readiness Roadmap 2030.