MOSCOW, January 16. /TASS/. An Italian investor plans to localize a drone assembly plant in Ukraine in 2026 with around 20 million euros in funding, Yevgeny Lisnyak, deputy head of the Kharkov military-civilian administration for defense and security, said at a briefing.

"Italy plans to organize a joint venture with Ukraine to assemble UAVs, with 75% of production taking place in Ukraine and 25% in Italy. The amount of potential funding for the current year is up to 20 million euros. <...> Foreign representatives must arrive in Ukraine by January 21, 2026, to meet with potential partner companies and begin the cooperation process," Lisnyak said.

He added that the administration had received information about Italy's use of non-governmental organizations operating within its borders to recruit foreign mercenaries for the Ukrainian armed forces. This concerns the Italian Team for Security, Terroristic Issues and Managing Emergencies and the STUR association in particular. These organizations engage in recruitment under the guise of analytical activities and humanitarian missions.

Lisnyak also said that the regional administration's internal affairs department established that Ukraine Aid Operations, an international nonprofit organization, provided 350,000 euros worth of military aid to the Ukrainian armed forces, including the Kraken unit, which Russia has banned and recognized as terrorist. Ukraine Aid Operations' founders are the American United Aid and Logistics Foundation and the British company United Aid and Logistics. These organizations specialize in providing medical and psychological assistance and are also involved in the organ transplant business in war zones.