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Received yesterday — 17 June 2026 ⏭

France is putting $22 million into Ukrainian defense tech. Deal comes with battlefield testing

✇Euromaidan Press
By: Olena Mukhina
17 June 2026 at 16:11

ukraine's nemesis drone battalion expands regiment pilots 412th 'nemesis' unmanned systems forces (sbs) has grown size sbs reported 26 ukraine news ukrainian reports

Ukraine's Brave1 defense technology cluster and France's Defense Innovation Agency (AID) launched the Brave France joint defense innovation program with a $22 million budget. Ukraine and France first announced their intention to create Brave France in February 2026, with the final launch agreement signed at Eurosatory 2026, Ukraine's Defense Ministry announces. 

Brave France extends Ukraine's growing network of bilateral defense innovation partnerships with European NATO members, following the May 2026 launch of Brave Germany with Berlin.

AID Director Patrick Aufort and Brave1 Operations Director Iryna Zabolotna signed the agreement, with French Minister of Armed Forces and Veterans Affairs Catherine Vautrin in attendance.

The parties are currently coordinating the list of priority topics, technical requirements for projects, and forming a joint executive board and expert commissions.

Brave France funds joint Ukrainian-French drone, missile, and air defense development

The program's primary focus areas align with Ukraine's most urgent battlefield needs and France's defense-industrial priorities. The maximum grant size of $1.1 million per project is designed to support both early-stage technology development and scaling of proven systems toward production.

Both AID and Brave1 will share oversight through joint expert commissions and an executive board currently being formed.

The September 2026 launch date for the first competitions gives the joint executive board approximately three months to finalize priority topics and technical requirements before opening applications to Ukrainian and French defense companies.

Test in Ukraine platform integrates battlefield validation into Brave France

A key element of Brave France will be integration with the Test in Ukraine platform, which allows foreign manufacturers to test new defense technologies in conditions close to actual combat. Ukraine's Defense Ministry offered the same Test in Ukraine framework to Germany earlier this year, with foreign manufacturers sending products to Ukraine, providing online training, and receiving operational reports from Ukrainian forces who deploy them.

The Brave France program will use the Test in Ukraine framework to accelerate the identification of technologies suitable for Ukraine's Defense Forces. The combined approach gives French defense manufacturers access to battlefield validation data while channeling Ukrainian frontline experience into joint product development.

The bilateral programs operate alongside ongoing co-production frameworks announced at Eurosatory 2026, including the Swedish-Ukrainian AIDronesUA-Njord Technology partnership for joint production of MAUL ground robots. 

Ukraine found Russian artillery’s weak spot and destroyed 250 systems in two nights

✇Euromaidan Press
By: Olena Mukhina
17 June 2026 at 15:50

russian losses

Ukraine destroyed 250 Russian artillery systems in two nights during Operation Artashan using a newly developed munition designed specifically to destroy artillery barrels, Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov announced in a PRESSING YouTube interview with Army Media. Operation Artashan is the sequel to last year's Operation Ashan, which targeted Russian armored vehicles, with the new operation focused specifically on Russian artillery.

The Artashan operation matters because Russian artillery remains responsible for over 10% of Ukrainian military casualties on parts of the front, reaching up to 20% on some sectors, per Fedorov.

The new munition specifically addresses a tactical problem that has limited Ukrainian counter-artillery effectiveness: standard drone or projectile strikes often damage but don't permanently disable Russian artillery, allowing Russian forces to repair systems and return them to combat positions.

Ukrainian engineers spent recent months developing the specialized munition that targets the artillery barrel — the key element whose destruction renders a system permanently inoperable. 

Special munition destroys artillery barrels to prevent Russian repair

"A special projectile was developed that destroys artillery barrels. In two nights, 250 Russian artillery systems were destroyed. We have video confirmation for all of it," Fedorov stated.

The conventional Ukrainian counter-artillery approach, using FPV drones, loitering munitions, or counter-battery fire, often damages Russian artillery systems without rendering them permanently inoperable, allowing Russian forces to repair damaged guns and return them to combat.

The new munition specifically targets the barrel, the most expensive and hardest-to-replace component of any artillery system. 

Earlier, Fedorov launched an additional $113 million in procurement funding for middle-strike drones. The middle-strike program targets Russian rear-area logistics, command posts, and key military capabilities at depths of 20 to 300 kilometers behind the front line.

Ukrainian middle-strike operations have contributed to a steady rise in the cost of Russian advances, from roughly 120 soldiers killed or wounded per square kilometer of advance a year ago to 316 in Q1 2026 in Donetsk Oblast. 

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