NATO opens its contracts to Ukraine’s defense industry

Ukraine has joined a NATO procurement partnership that lets Ukrainian defense companies bid for contracts issued by the alliance’s main buying agency, the NATO Support and Procurement Agency announced on Oct. 22, 2026.

Ukraine is now the seventh member of the agency’s Security Cooperation Support Partnership, alongside Belgium, Luxembourg, Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom and NATO Headquarters. The partnership, set up in 2025 to give Ukraine sustained support through a structured procurement framework, will also let Kyiv draw on the agency’s expertise and help shape Ukraine’s own defense and industrial requirements. NATO allies in the North Atlantic Council approved the agency’s ability to issue solicitations and sign contracts with Ukrainian industry in April 2026.

The Luxembourg-based agency marked the move with a Ukraine Industry Day in Kyiv on Oct. 14, attended by about 150 Ukrainian companies. NSPA said it was the first event of its kind held by a NATO organization in Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion, bringing together the agency’s director of support to operations, Jacqueline Borsboom, staff from the NATO Representation to Ukraine and NATO Headquarters, and Ukrainian Deputy Defense Ministers Mstyslav Banik and Anna Gvozdiar to discuss future procurement trends and partnerships with companies across Ukraine’s defense industrial base.

“This partnership will help deeper connect Ukrainian industry with opportunities to grow, while enabling Allies and partners to learn from Ukraine’s battle-tested innovation and operational experience. Our aim is to further strengthen Ukraine’s industrial base and bring that expertise into the delivery and sustainment of capabilities,” said Jacqueline Borsboom, NSPA director of support to operations.

“Ukraine is developing its cooperation with NATO in the field of procurement, and participation in this Partnership offers a unique opportunity to access all the services and capabilities of the NSPA for our needs. Ukraine is the first and only country (and not even a NATO member) for which a separate Partnership has been created as a single entry point to the Agency’s work, and Ukrainian industry has also been given broad access to the Agency’s tenders,” said Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Mstyslav Banik.

NSPA support partnerships allow two or more NATO countries to pool their demand for goods and services, which can bring economies of scale and lower prices, with the agency acting as the central manager that develops capabilities, handles requirements and oversees delivery on the alliance’s behalf. For Ukrainian manufacturers, the arrangement opens a route into the tenders that NATO uses to buy and sustain equipment for its members.

The agency has already been a major channel for non-lethal aid to Kyiv. NSPA has mobilized around 400 million euros ($448 million) through NATO’s Comprehensive Assistance Package Trust Fund for Ukraine, delivering medical supplies, fuel, critical infrastructure and cybersecurity support, while the IT Capability Coalition has added another 219 million euros ($245 million) to modernize Ukraine’s digital defense capabilities. Allies have also donated millions of liters of fuel, with NSPA staff deployed in NATO countries to oversee quality.

NATO says its allies have provided 99% of all military aid to Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, and with Ukraine now inside the partnership, the agency can issue solicitations and sign contracts directly with Ukrainian companies.