EU may create fund for Ukraine to develop drones and AI - Borrell
EU diplomacy chief Josep Borel (Getty Images)
The High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, has announced plans to propose to EU member states the creation of a assistance fund for Ukraine focused on the development of drones and artificial intelligence, according to El Diario.
"I am going to propose to the Member States that aid to Ukraine be concentrated on the new instruments of this war: drones and artificial intelligence," he said.
Borrell emphasized that the war will be largely fought through communication and targeting systems.
"They are small drones, they have a range of 20 kilometers, they carry an explosive charge of two kilos, they cost very little and you don't need more to destroy a tank," he explained.
The EU's top diplomat added that drones on the frontlines now make everything visible.
"Tanks are used as static artillery, they do not go out into the open field. Either a drone falls on them or they have a mine underneath. Everything is visible on the battlefield," he said.
He also stressed the necessity to develop technologies based on a different type of warfare.
"In the face of massive attacks on small drones, such as a swarm of wasps, the defensive alternative is to interfere with the communications system. If you manage to control the spectrum, the drone is useless. We have to carry classic ammunition and we have to support them in modern aspects of war such as artificial intelligence. Technologies based on another type of war must be developed. And they do it, at the moment with great skill, but they need more," he emphasized.
EU assistance
European Union leaders on February 1 approved a allocation of €50 billion for Ukraine under the Ukraine Facility program for 2024-2027.
On February 5, the EU Council and European Parliament reached a preliminary agreement on creating a new instrument to support Ukraine's recovery, reconstruction, and modernization, the Ukraine Facility.
The document is expected to be approved by the European Parliament at its plenary session scheduled for February 26-29, 2024.
Ukraine expects to receive the first payment of €4.5 billion in March. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukraine aims to receive €18 billion within the first two years of the program.
