Ukraine

Ukraine is a sovereign Eastern European state of approximately 44 million people before the war, bordered by Russia to the north-east and east. It has been under Russian full-scale invasion since 24 February 2022, building on the Donbas conflict that began in 2014 following Russia's annexation of Crimea, and holds roughly 80% of its internationally recognised territory after four years of war along a front line of around 1,000 km.

Ukraine now fights on military, diplomatic and economic fronts simultaneously. Its Unmanned Systems Forces struck the Baltic Fleet at Kronstadt on 5-6 June 2026, sending more than 400 drones roughly 1,000 km into Russia to hit the missile corvette Boikyi and oil infrastructure, the first confirmed Ukrainian naval strike in the Baltic Sea. Its economic campaign shifted target class in early July, from static Russian refineries to the tankers moving fuel through the Sea of Azov, where AIS tracking recorded a possible 55% drop in vessel crossings between 30 June and 11 July.

NATO leaders meeting in Ankara on 7-8 July pledged EUR70bn in equipment, assistance and training for 2026, committing to sustain at least equivalent levels in 2027, and launched a $40bn, five-year Drone Edge counter-drone initiative; the summit text itself records that European Allies and Canada now finance the vast majority of Ukraine's security assistance.

Beyond the front line, Ukraine has turned three years of drone-defence experience into diplomatic capital, deploying counter-drone specialists to six partner states, including Jordan, since March 2026.