Ukraine: Defense supply lines are redrawn by the conflict in and India is discussed strategically
Ukraine: According to officials and experts here, as Russia’s war continues, European allies are shifting from providing emergency military aid to Ukraine to long-term defense industrial partnerships. This change is also driving efforts to diversify global supply chains away from China, with India being mentioned as part of that conversation.
In their testimony before the US Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe on Thursday, speakers emphasized the “Danish model,” a strategy developed by Denmark that directs foreign investment into Ukraine’s defense sector instead of primarily depending on third-country purchases or stockpile donations.
Major General Karsten F. Jensen, Danish Defense Attaché to the United States, said, “From a Danish perspective, strengthening our own defense and supporting Ukraine is not mutually exclusive, but part of the same solution to strengthen European defense and security.”
According to Jensen, the concept enables donors to support Ukrainian businesses according to the demands of the battlefield. “Instead of depending only on buying military hardware from other nations or donating from domestic stockpiles, Denmark directly contributes to the Ukrainian defense industry through the model,” he said.
According to him, 18 artillery systems that were bought in July 2024 were delivered via a test project, and “all pieces… battle ready in September the same year.” Through the concept, Denmark contributed around $627 million in 2024, with assistance anticipated to approach $2 billion in 2025.
According to Sophia Besch, a specialist in European defense policy, Europe is moving from crisis reaction to planning. “What started out as a collection of reactive crisis tools in 2022 is now beginning to evolve into something more strategic,” she said. “Europe’s first line of defense and a stronger deterrent against Russia is a capable and rearmed Ukraine.”
According to Kateryna Bondar, a fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ Wadhwani AI Center and a former advisor to the Ukrainian government, the country’s defense sector has grown quickly but is underfunded. “Ukraine’s annual defense production capacity skyrocketed from about one billion in 2022 to over 35 billion by mid-2025,” she said, noting that Kyiv could only afford to purchase $6 billion worth of equipment in early 2024.
According to Bondar, the battle has revealed weaknesses in the supply system, particularly reliance on China. Regarding their mutual dependence on Chinese parts, especially for drones, she said, “Russians and Ukrainians are eating from the same bucket.” She said that efforts are now underway to diversify sources, “including India.”
Rivals are keeping a close eye on the dispute, she said. Bondar said that “China is learning from Russia” and that “Putin went to India just recently and established military collaboration with India.”
According to witnesses, maintaining Ukraine and influencing any future peace depend heavily on defense-industry collaboration. Besch asserted that scalable and predictable output is necessary for effective deterrence, saying that “industrial cooperation is a foundation for any sustainable peace.”
With Ukraine increasingly seen as a front line of European defense, NATO countries have been compelled to reconsider defense budget, industrial capability, and supply chain resilience since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.