The European Commissioner is convinced that Ukraine should be part of the European Defense Union

The EU should include Ukraine in its own defense planning to increase the level of protection against potential aggression from Russia, European Commissioner for Defense and Space Andrius Kubilius said in an interview with Ukrinform.

"My task, which the President of the European Commission has defined in my functional responsibilities, is to develop and implement the concept of a true European Defense Union, which I see as a kind of new security architecture on the European continent, which will include Ukraine, the United Kingdom and Norway, so that we have all the opportunities to become as strong as possible," the European Commissioner emphasized.

According to Kubilius, Russia could "test Article 5 within three to five years, that is, launch an aggression against, perhaps, countries on the eastern flank." He also stated that the enemy's army is now stronger than it was in 2022, and it can also use millions of drones to attack.

At the same time, the European Commissioner acknowledged that the EU is probably not currently "at its peak to defend itself against such a battle-tested army."

It is precisely to prevent this that the European Union and the European Defense Union need a Ukrainian army.

"At the same time, on the democratic side of our European continent, there is another battle-tested army - the army of Ukraine. Ukraine also has a war-tested defense industry. And not including Ukraine in our defense planning would be a big mistake," Kubilius emphasized.

In addition, according to the European official, the Americans may focus on the Indo-Pacific region to counterbalance China's military presence. This is why Europe needs to think about how to defend itself independently.