East Front News #40: Russia Goes Back to Soviet Model, Polish Industry Gains New Orders

Sweden to buy Polish drones for Ukraine

The Swedish Minister of Defence, in an interview with Rzeczpospolita, announced that his country intends to purchase drones in Poland for Ukraine’s needs. The head of Sweden’s defence ministry did not specify what types of drones are to be ordered from Grupa WB. It is also unclear what the eventual cost of the order and its scale will be. Both strike drones produced by WB – Warmate – and reconnaissance drones, FlyEye, are in operation in Ukraine. The latter are extensively used by the Ukrainians, both over Ukraine and in operations, among others, in the Kursk and Belgorod regions.

Russia has returned to the Soviet model. Gen. Klisz: We must prepare society (INTERVIEW)

„There is a need for a system of widespread defense and protection against small drones, directly for vehicles that we acquire for tens of millions of zlotys. And in wartime, these have to be kinetic solutions, because they are the most effective; electronic warfare, unfortunately, is not enough,” says Gen. div. Maciej Klisz in the first part of the Defence24.pl interview.

Croatia interested in Polish defence systems

During the Croatian Adriatic Sea Defense & Aerospace (ASDA) 2025 exhibition, the WB Group showcased its extensive range of products for the army and other uniformed services. Among the visitors was Croatian Defense Minister Ivan Anušić.

In recent years, WB Group has been actively promoting its solutions on international markets, resulting in further export orders and an ever-growing expansion not only in Europe but across the globe. Currently, after purchases of constructs such as FlyEye and Warmate, queues of eager customers are forming; however, these are not the only products receiving recognition beyond Poland’s borders. Some of these products could be seen during the ASDA 2025 exhibition between 8th and 10th April, where several Polish companies, including WB Group, were present.

Polish Company to Support Armored Recovery Vehicles

BAE Systems has entered into an agreement with Wojskowe Zakłady Motoryzacyjne S.A. (WZM), a member of PGZ Capital Group and a premier Polish defense company specializing in the sustainment of tracked armored vehicles, to enhance the support of the Polish Land Forces« M88 Armored Recovery Vehicle fleet operational readiness.

The agreement ensures the Polish defense industry will play a critical role in supporting the Polish military with their newly acquired equipment.

Under the terms of the arrangement, WZM will use BAE Systems« intellectual property to perform maintenance, repair, and overhaul operations, ensuring that the Polish Land Forces« M88s are fully operational and able to conduct battlefield recovery and repair activities.

EU support for Ukraine

Despite ongoing peace negotiations involving the United States, the Russian Federation, and Ukraine, frontline operations continue unabated, with both Kiev and Moscow seeking to best their negotiating position based on their wartime achievements. Washington’s ambivalent position is balanced by rhetoric and actions from European countries. 

On April 9, 2025, Ukraine received another tranche of a loan from the European Union in the amount of EUR 1 billion. The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, announced that Kiev will soon receive EUR 1.4 billion from frozen Russian assets and plans to allocate another EUR 2.1 billion from this pool from the end of April this year. 

On April 4, 2025, Norwegian Finance Minister Jens Stoltenberg announced that Oslo would increase military support for Ukraine by $4.6 billion in 2025. A similar declaration was made by another Nordic country, Denmark, which pledged $981 million in aid in 2025-2027. In addition, on April 1, Latvian Defense Minister Andris Sprūds announced that Riga had transferred 1,500 drones to Ukraine, and by the end of June, this number should total 12,000 systems worth €17 million. Poland has transferred another 5,000 Starlink terminals to Ukraine – Warsaw is the most active member of the Starlink coalition. 

Frozen Russian Assets

On April 9, the tenth meeting of the EU-Ukraine Association Council took place in Brussels. In addition to a loan tranche under the ERA program amounting to €1 billion, the EU’s foreign affairs chief, Kaja Kallas, announced that Ukraine would receive €1.4 billion generated from frozen Russian assets. She added that the EU aims to begin gradually disbursing funds from the second tranche, worth €2.1 billion, by the end of April. Kallas emphasized that during the visit of the Ukrainian delegation, new agreements were signed, including those related to the reconstruction of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure and Kyiv’s participation in the Copernicus satellite program.  

Additionally, the Estonian official highlighted that the Russian Federation has intensified its attacks on Ukraine since the proposal for a ceasefire emerged, stating that „only Russia wants to continue \[the war\].” During the conference, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal stated that Kyiv has fulfilled 81% of the commitments outlined in the association agreement. Progress has been made in areas such as customs, intellectual property rights, education, information exchange, humanitarian policy, the judiciary, public procurement, and national security. The Prime Minister stressed that Kyiv is ready to carry out all the necessary work to become a member of the European community after the war ends. From the European perspective, the use of Russian funds to rebuild Ukraine should be highly desirable. Not only does it reduce the financial burden on the EU, but it also provides Kyiv with resources that can be spent with European entities.

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East Front News is a weekly newsletter and article on Defence24.com summarizing the past week’s most important events concerning security and the situation in the Central and Eastern Europe region. It includes original opinions and comments, along with key news items significant from a Polish perspective.

Aleksander Olech, PhD & Jakub Palowski, Deputy Ed. in Chief, Michał Górski