Poroshenko calls for urgent funding to get troops more reconnaissance drones
Source: European Solidarity
In his speech in the Verkhovna Rada on Tuesday, European Solidarity party leader Petro Porosenko urged the goverment to allocate funds for military brigades to get them more reconnaissance drones. He spoke of the dire situation on the front lines and criticized the inefficiency of the government’s response.
“Look at today’s agenda .. while the situation on the front has never been so difficult—not even in March 2022,” said Poroshenko.
He revealed that the Ukrainian troops army faces critical shortages of reconnaissance equipment at the fronts where they need them most – Pokrovsk and Kupyansk.
“One thousand drones were promised. Meanwhile, 100 billion remains in the accounts of those managing funds, proving the inefficiency and corruption of the ruling majority. I urge you: return the money to the brigades. Allocate 50 billion to their accounts. Tens of thousands of drones must be purchased. Help the army,” Porošenko appealed.
The former president also called for stripping pro-Russian politicians of their parliamentary mandates and holding them accountable for their anti-Ukrainian activities.
“If we leave today without including bill 8089, which bans the activities of the ‘fifth column,’ in the agenda, this will all be ineffective. If you fail to consider resolution 7694 to strip them of their mandates—because they represent neither the Ukrainian state nor the Ukrainian people—they have no place in this hall. This will be a missed opportunity. I am convinced that those working for Putin must face justice and be held accountable,” Porošenko declared.
In 2025, the deadliest year yet for civilians, Ukraine’s three largest charitable foundations raised a record 105.9 billion hryvnias. It is more than the years 2022–2024 combined. According to the UN, humanitarian aid in Ukraine was delivered by more than 450 organisations, reaching five million people over the course of the year. Civic foundations hold licences to purchase lethal weapons, which is a function states have monopolised for centuries. These record sums were underwritten by international government grants, which means foreign states now channel billions directly through Ukrainian civic funds, bypassing inter-state channels. It is hard to imagine a stronger institutional trust in civil society.
During the GLOBSEC Defence Forum 2026 in Prague, representatives of “Steel Front”, an initiative by Rinat Akhmetov, discussed with NATO delegations, military officials, and representatives of the European defense industry the lessons learned from Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine.
After the start of the full-scale invasion in February 2022, Ukraine witnessed an unprecedented wave of private support for the army. Citizens, big businesses, charitable foundations, and international philanthropists began financing the country’s defense alongside state assistance provided by international partners. Estimates of total private contributions range from tens to hundreds of billions of hryvnias. However, determining the exact amount remains difficult. In many cases, companies combine military aid, humanitarian programs, tax payments, social spending, and employee support in their reporting.
Rinat Akhmetov’s military initiative, “Steel Front”, has delivered a batch of drones worth UAH 214 million to the 1st “Azov” Corps of the National Guard of Ukraine. This shipment is part of the Metinvest Group’s ongoing support for the unit in 2025.
On October 6, the Administrative Cassation Court within the Supreme Court of Ukraine continued hearing case No. 990/80/25, in which the fifth President and leader of the party “European Solidarity”, Petro Poroshenko, seeks to have Presidential Decree No. 81/2025 from February 12, 2025 — enacting sanctions by the decision of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) — declared illegal and annulled. The plaintiff claims the document was falsified and that the sanctions are a tool of political persecution of the opposition, contrary to international norms. Government representatives deny the allegations and insist their actions were lawful. Journalists of Bukvy were present at the hearing.